The Northern Railway has invited tenders to set up two warehouses near Anantnag and Pampore railway stations in Kashmir, in a move officials say will boost trade, improve storage and speed up the transport of local produce to major markets across India.

With these, Jammu and Kashmir will have three such railway warehouses, including one at Bari Brahmana on the outskirts of Jammu city, for which tenders were invited on October 13 — the first such project under the policy in the Jammu division.

The Jammu railway division has invited private investors to develop and operate the facilities under the Railways' Cargo Related Facility (CRF) policy for a lease period of 25 years, officials said. The tenders are available on the Indian Railways E-Procurement System (IREPS) portal.

The warehouses are expected to benefit apple growers and saffron traders by providing storage facilities right next to railway stations, reducing loading and unloading costs and minimising post-harvest losses of perishable produce. Uchit Singhal, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Jammu, said the initiative would strengthen freight transportation and improve storage facilities for perishable agricultural produce.

Officials said the three proposed facilities at Bari Brahmana, Anantnag and Pampore are also expected to create employment opportunities and strengthen the region's logistics infrastructure, linking Kashmir's orchards and saffron fields more directly with national markets.

Sources: Jammu News Portal (railway officials), FreshPlaza, The Economic Times.