India, June 2 -- In any other context, a train carrying produce from one region to another may make for humdrum imagery, but when it is one from Jammu and Kashmir, carrying cherries to Maharashtra, it evokes expectations centred on multiple possibilities. One, it opens up the market for horticulture farmers from the Union Territory, not just in fruits such as cherries, apples, apricots, and even Ladakh's sea buckthorn berries, but also for a wide variety of flowers. For a region whose horticulture potential has not been fully tapped due to lack of market access - despite linkages that have come up in the past couple of decades - access to new markets through railways is a significant boost, and one that hastens its integration with the economic mainstream. Two, it drastically reduces transport time - from J&K to Mumbai in less than 35 hours compared to the six to seven days taken by road transport - facilitating less deterioration in the quality of perishables, and thereby, better realisation of prices. This is especially significant given the cold storage capacity in the UT is a small fraction of just its annual apple production, let alone other fruit. Three, it takes a significant load off the highways and city roads, freeing these up for other traffic. There are, of course, much broader implications for the UT. With the tertiary sector of its economy - it contributes over 60% to its gross domestic product - being largely tourism-driven, there is an urgent need to diversify. Horticulture already contributes close to 10% of the UT's GDP and the potential for expansion, especially exotic vegetables besides fruits such as apricots, plums, and cherries, is immense. With the railways set to connect the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India soon, the cargo train transporting produce from Jammu to Mumbai is, hopefully, the harbinger of things to come. Economic integration with easy market access will boost J&K's political integration with the rest of India....