Jammu, June 8: With the flag off of the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express on Friday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Northern Railways has started formal commercial operation of the Vande Bharat train service between the two cities on Saturday.
The semi-highspeed train also left the Katra Vaushnovidevi City station today with hundreds of passengers, said sources.
The train service connected the Katra town of Reasi district with Kashmir Valley after as many as 28 years, as the Indian Railways had dreamt of connecting Kashmir with Kanyakumari then.
The state-of-the-art Vande Bharat train has been built to suit the extremes of temperature and vagaries of weather in the region. Air-conditioned and centrally heated, the cabins have defrosting technology for the driver’s windshield are some of the special features of this train.
The Vande Bharat train will take three hours from Katra to Srinagar.
The Anji cable-stayed bridge on this rail link is the country’s first such railway bridge.
Passengers who boarded the trains from Katra to Baramulla, or vice versa, expressed immense enthusiasm, with many stating they had eagerly awaited the opportunity to travel to Kashmir by train.
The first day of commercial operations went smoothly, and the trains reached their destinations by evening, officials said.
They added that public excitement was high, with most of the seats booked within hours of the train’s inauguration.
According to Northern Railway, two Vande Bharat train sets made four trips on Saturday between Katra and Srinagar.
Vande Bharat train has two travel classes, chair car and the executive class, with tickets priced at Rs 725 and Rs 1320 respectively.
After the expansion work at the Jammu railway station is completed, the train service will operate from Jammu to the Valley in September this year.
