Delhi, June 7: In order to give a major boost to connectivity and tourism in the region, the Indian Railways is gearing up to extend its robust services from Jammu to Srinagar.
The development of the Jammu Railway station is going on with a speedier pace to bridge the gap with the Katra railway station which got its first all-weather connectivity with Srinagar on Friday.
The Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off yesterday by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated two major infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district — the world's highest railway arch bridge, the 'Chenab Railway Bridge', and India's first cable-stayed 'Anji Bridge'.
In a special moment, he also waved the Indian national flag and walked forward on the deck of the Chenab River Bridge.
The bridges are part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project in Jammu and Kashmir.
The famous Chenab Railway Bridge, the world’s highest railway arch bridge, is on the Katra-to-Sangaldan route and will connect New Delhi directly to Kashmir by train. Located in Reasi district, the Chenab Bridge is an engineering wonder, standing 359 meters above the riverbed. For the first time ever, this bridge will link the Kashmir Valley to the rest of India by rail.
PM Modi also launched two Vande Bharat Express trains from Katra Railway Station, linking Jammu division directly with Kashmir, marking a major milestone in Jammu and Kashmir's railway connectivity.
The new Vande Bharat Express trains will cut travel time between Katra and Srinagar from 6–7 hours by road to just around 3 hours. These trains will give local people, tourists, and pilgrims a faster, more comfortable and reliable way to travel.
The train route includes two special bridges the Anji Khad Bridge, India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, and the Chenab Bridge, the highest railway bridge in the world.
These trains have been specially built to handle the cold weather in the Kashmir Valley.
The semi-high-speed train operated between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) and Srinagar is promising to transform travel & turism in the region.
The Vande Bharat Express currently operates 136 services across the country and the newly opened Jammu-Srinagar route is expected to enhance tourism in the Kashmir Valley and contribute to the region’s economic growth.
The Indian Railways said that the trial run is a critical step before the commercial launch of the service from Jammu- Srinagar.Just before the final launch of the Vande Bharat Express train between Jammu and Srinagar, a trial run will be conducted soon from Katra and Srinagar to check various safety aspects of the train.
The operation of the new Vande Bharat Express train will be maintained by the Northern Railway's Jammu Division and the trial run of the train will help assess various technical aspects of the train's performance on the challenging terrain of the region.
Once the Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express is launched and regular commercial services begin, the Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat train is expected to stop at major stations, including Reasi, Sangaldan, Banihal, Qazigund, Anantnag, and Avantipora stations. However, the Railway Board (RB) will finalize the date of completion of the railway line and the final stoppages.
