Banihal railway station

Banihal
Indian Railways station
Location	Banihal, Jammu and Kashmir India
Coordinates	33.4507°N 75.1892°E / 33.4507; 75.1892
Elevation	1,702 m (5,584 ft)
Owned by	Indian Railways
Line(s)	Jammu–Baramulla line
Platforms	2
Tracks	3
Construction
Parking	Yes
Other information
Station code	BAHL
Zone(s)	Northern Railway zone
Division(s)	Firozpur cantt
History
Opened	2013
Route map km Baramulla–Kupwara line to Kupwara (planned) 338 Baramulla 330 Sopore 323 Hamre 315 Pattan 307 Mazhom 292 Budgam Srinagar–Kargil–Leh line (planned) 281 Srinagar 275 Pampore Jhelum Bridge 269 Kakapora 259 Awantipora 252 Panzgom 245 Bijbehara to Pahalgam (planned) 238 Anantnag 231 Sadura 226 Qazigund 218 Hillar Shahabad Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel (Template:BScvt) 208 Banihal Arpinchala Sumber Sangaldan Tunnel (Template:BScvt) Sangaldan Basindadhar Dugha Chenab Bridge Salal Anji Khad Bridge Reasi 78 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra 62 Chak Rakhwal 53 Udhampur 44 Ramnagar Tawi Bridge 22 Manwal 14 Sangar 10 Bajalta Jammu–Poonch line (proposed) 0 Jammu Tawi Jalandhar–Jammu line km
Location

Banihal railway station (station code: BAHL), a part of Jammu–Baramulla line, is situated in notified area of Banihal in Ramban district, Jammu and Kashmir. It was commissioned on 26 June 2013 and passenger trains run from Banihal to Qazigund. The station was inaugurated by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the same day at 2.22 pm. They enjoyed the 12-minute ride in train through Pir Panjal tunnel up to Qazigund with 100 students, mostly girls, of the Banihal Higher Secondary School, and made the 17.8-km ride back to Banihal, passing through the tunnel again, the second longest in Asia.

Banihal Railway Station Aerial View

Background

The station has been built as part of the Jammu–Baramulla line megaproject, intending to link the Kashmir Valley with Jammu Tawi and the rest of the Indian railway network.

Services

The railway network in Kashmir from Banihal to Baramulla is now 137 km. Five trains run daily from Banihal to Baramulla. The services are paused since 5th august 2019 after the Abrogation of Article 35A and it were resumed only once for a special documentary shoot.

Design

The RL of the station is 1,702 m (5,584 ft) above mean sea level. Like all the other stations in this megaproject, this station also features Kashmiri wood architecture, with an intended ambience of a royal court which is designed to complement the local surroundings to the station. Station signage is predominantly in Urdu, English and Hindi.

See also

• Srinagar railway station
• Udhampur railway station
• Anantnag railway station
• Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station