Delhi bound: Apples being loaded into a parcel van at the Budgam railway station in Kashmir on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: X/@AshwiniVaishnaw
In a bid to alleviate the struggles of apple growers in Kashmir, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday announced the launch of a daily parcel train service between Budgam in the Valley and Adarsh Nagar in Delhi.
The move comes as a relief to orchardists in south Kashmir, where hundreds of trucks laden with apple produce worth ₹200 crore are stranded due to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway for the past 13 days following landslips triggered by heavy rains. Many trucks had to unload rotten apples in orchards and on highways.
“Empowering Kashmir’s apple growers. With the Jammu-Srinagar line operational, the Kashmir Valley has better connectivity. Railways is introducing a daily time-tabled parcel train from Budgam in Kashmir Valley to Adarsh Nagar station in Delhi starting September 13, 2025,” Mr. Vaishnaw said on X.
Two parcel vans carrying apples from Budgam to Delhi were loaded on Thursday. “Each van will carry 23 metric tonnes of apples,” an official said.
The train will depart from the Budgam station at 6.15 a.m. on Saturday and reach Adarsh Nagar station at 5 a.m. the next day, “which is a suitable time for apples to arrive at the Delhi market early in the morning”, an official said.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed gratitude to the Railway Ministry for launching the service.
“My heartfelt gratitude to the Railway Minister for the support in making this initiative possible. We have been in touch with each other to address the issue. The frequent closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, damaged by recent heavy rains, has left Kashmir’s apple industry reeling at the peak of the harvest season. Growers have been unable to transport their produce to markets outside the Valley, resulting in mounting losses,” Mr. Abdullah said.
Orchardists hail move
An official said the Railways is ready to run more such trains if there is further demand. Orchardists and apple dealers in the Valley welcomed the step and underlined the need to press for more such train services to salvage the horticulture sector.
“Thousands of trucks got stuck in the past two weeks. The losses are estimated to be around ₹100-₹200 crore. The problem is that we have seen such bad weather after so many years. The road was completely fine, but suddenly before the season, this disaster hits. Now, this has happened at a very crucial time, which is the beginning of the season. The reputation of the Kashmir apple is at stake when the first lots are of bad quality,” Izhan Javed, an apple dealer and spokesperson of J&K Fruits and Vegetables Processing and Integrated Cold Chain Association, told The Hindu.
“I fear it will affect the whole season as the perspective of Kashmir apple quality is set among buyers and impacts the pricing for the whole season. If the problem persists, we are looking at losses in thousands of crores. There are a lot of fruit-laden trucks that need priority passage. While the starting of a parcel train is a welcome step, more needs to be done as two parcels cannot accommodate more than 40 tons of fruit. We need two to three full cargo trains every day for at least 10-15 days to relieve the pressure,” Mr. Javed said.
J&K’s apple production stood at 20.40 lakh metric tons in 2023-24 and contributed over 70% of the total produce of the country.
Published – September 12, 2025 02:45 am IST
