NEW DELHI: The bustling Jammu Tawi railway station, the key station where passengers alight to visit many tourist spots in Jammu and Kashmir, is witnessing a major dip in patronage in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack. Due to security reasons, trains are not allowed direct entry up to Srinagar railway station since January 2025, and the public alight either at Jammu or Katra railway stations. Data gathered by this newspaper from Indian Railways reveals that the average dip in patronage was 30% and even touched upto 40% on a few days.The patronage at Jammu Tawi station stood at 26,401 passengers and 24,365 on April 21 and 22 respectively. The visitors in the week preceding it is as follows: April 23 – 19,841 passengers; April 24 – 16,620; April 25 – 17,431; April 26: 18,312; Apr 27 – 16,621; Apr 28 – 17,994; April 29 – 17881. A source told TNIE, “It hit a rock bottom on April 24. It has been hovering in the 17K to 18K range only since then.”While the entry into the State has been impacted, public departing from the station shot up. While an average of 18,915 passengers exited Jammu on April 21 and 22, an average of 22,619 passengers left the station in the two days following the attack.On April 25, 26 and 27, the departing passengers was in the range of 20,000 to 22,000. “But from April 28, the numbers departing have come down and it could be because of a reduced inflow,” a source said. On April 29, just 14,500 passengers left the State, he added.No one in Northern Railway was willing to come on record over this issue.
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