Just before 8 am, policemen stationed outside the Srinagar Railway Station began whistling for everyone to rush in. For the first time, a Vande Bharat train connecting Srinagar to Jammu was about to pull into the platform. Inside the station, a quick bag scan, an escalator to the other side of the platform and in six minutes, the train was in view. The smiles widened, the phones came out, and a queue began to form. As passengers boarded the train to Jammu , some for the first time ever, they were thrilled at the prospect of reaching their destination in less than five hours. While Jammu has remained connected to railway networks across the country, the roughly 260-kilometre distance between Srinagar and Jammu has been marred by landslides and inclement weather. This train, as a result, has been a dream in the making for decades.…