4 launches since 2008 and a century-old dream

When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday flags off a train on the nearly 18 km stretch from Qazigund to Banihal

When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday flags off a train on the nearly 18 km stretch from Qazigund to Banihal the Valleys first all weather link to the outside world it would be the fourth inauguration,and third by Singh,of the 130 km rail line from Baramulla to Banihal. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has inaugurated the rail service once.

The train chugged in the Valley for the first time five years ago on October 11,2008 when the PM inaugurated the 66 km stretch from Anantnag in south Kashmir to Mazhama in central Kashmir. At the high profile inaugural function,he was accompanied by Sonia,the then Railways minister,Lalu Prasad,and the then Water Resources minister Saif-ud-din Soz.

Four months later,on February 14,2009,the Valley witnessed another inauguration from Mazhama in central Kashmir to Baramulla in north Kashmir. This time,Sonia was the chief guest to throw open the 34 km stretch.

The PM was here again on October 28,2009 to inaugurate the third phase of the project an 18 km stretch from Anantnag to Qazigund in south Kashmir.

It has been more than three years since then. With the Indian Railways completing another phase,the PM will be here on June 25 to inaugurate the new stretch.

However,the story of a rail line in Kashmir is an old one. The latest project started 29 years ago,but the first proposal was mooted by Maharaja Pratap Singh way back in 1898. A look at the timeline of Kashmirs railway line:

1902: Britain proposed a rail link between Srinagar and Rawalpindi along the river Jhelum. The project failed to take off.

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1905: Britain again proposed a rail link between Srinagar and Rawalpindi. The then ruler of Kashmir,Maharaja Pratap Singh,approved an electric-powered rail line between Jammu and Srinagar. The project didnt take off as it would have been a slow train,operational only during summer months.

1947: A rail link between Pathankot and Jammu was proposed. It was also proposed that the line be extended to Srinagar. It was put on hold because of high cost.

1983: The Railways took the first step to have a link to Kashmir. PM Indira Gandhi launched a project connecting Udhampur to Jammu. She set aside a budget of Rs 50 crore and gave a time frame of five years to complete the project.

1996: PM P V Narasimha Rao announced Rs 2,600 crore for Kashmirs rail link.

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1997: PM H D Deve Gowda laid the foundation stone of the 290 km Udhampur-Baramulla railway link at Udhampur.

1997: PM I K Gujral laid the foundation stone for Udhampur-Baramulla railway link at Baramulla.

2002: The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government declared the rail link to Kashmir a national project. The cost was estimated at Rs 6,000 crore. The Central government set August 15,2007 as the deadline for the project.

2005: PM Manmohan Singh inaugurated 55 km Jammu-Udhampur stretch after more than two decades of construction. The expenditure of the project escalated from Rs 50 crore to Rs 515 crore.

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2008: PM Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first phase 66 km stretch from Anantnag to Mazhama.