Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today suspended the expanded Srinagar-Jammu Vande Bharat Express service from the Jammu Tawi railway station. The train, which earlier operated from Srinagar to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, will now run all the way to Jammu Tawi.
Regular services on the expanded route will begin on Saturday. The train will now operate with 20 carriages instead of eight, significantly improving capacity, connectivity and comfort. With the extension of the Vande Bharat train, passengers can travel between Jammu and Srinagar in less than five hours. Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Vaishnaw said that the last twelve years have witnessed significant transformation in the railway sector. He noted that after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the region has witnessed a continuous flow of development.
Vaishnaw said that keeping in mind the increasing passenger demand, the number of coaches in this train has been increased from 8 to 20 coaches. He further informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Vande Bharat train service from Katra to Kashmir in June last year and since then more than five lakh fifty thousand passengers have availed this service.
Our correspondent reports that the move is expected to particularly benefit pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine and those undertaking the Amarnath Yatra as it allows for seamless rail travel connecting key destinations for pilgrims without interchange.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stopped the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express in June last year with eight coaches. Since then, the train has been consistently running at full capacity, with overwhelming response from passengers. In view of the increasing passenger demand, the train has been extended up to Jammu and the number of coaches has been increased to 20.
The first service will depart from Jammu Tawi at 6:20 am and will stop at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Reasi and Banihal stations. The train is scheduled to reach Srinagar at 11:10 am, after completing the journey in about four hours and fifty minutes. On its return journey, the train will leave Srinagar at 2:00 pm and reach Jammu Tawi at 6:50 pm on the same day.
