India, Dec. 29 -- I stood in an apple orchard in Kunsoo, Shopian, watching yellow-painted masonry pillars rise from the soil.

They looked out of place, sharp and final, as if someone had drawn lines through a living landscape.

Each pillar marked the proposed path of a new railway line.

For the families around me, each pillar also marked a question about tomorrow.

Kunsoo lies about 20 kilometres from Kakapora in Pulwama. A wide road already links the two places. Buses, trucks, and private vehicles move through it every day.

Despite this, the government plans a 27-kilometre railway line between Awantipora and Shopian.

The Railways Ministry approved a Final Location Survey for this line, along with four other railway projects in Kas...