- By Raju Kumar
- Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:44 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express: Railways issued an official statement on upcoming project - Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express. Northern Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, on Monday said the new train in the Vande Bharat series will be launched on April 19.
PM Modi to flag off Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express
According to the authorities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district, will inaugurate the Vande Bharat train, which will undertake the journey from Jammu to Srinagar via Katra district, on April 19.
Vande Bharat Express to reduce travel time to just 3 hours
The completion of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project will significantly reduce travel time between Katra and Srinagar. The new Vande Bharat Express will cut down the travel time from the current 6-7 hours by road to just 3 hours, said Upadhyay.
"The Vande Bharat Express train will cut the Katra-Srinagar journey to just 3 hours, compared to the current 6-7 hours by road. At present, train services run between Srinagar and Sangaldan in the valley. Once the railway line from Sangaldan to Katra becomes operational, these trains can be extended to Katra," he said.
Upadhyay said that the USBRL project Qazigund-Baramulla section was started in the year 2009.
Timing of Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat: According to the railway authorities, the Vande Bharat Express train will leave from Katra at 8.10 am and arrive in Srinagar at 11.20 am and the train will leave Srinagar at 8.55 am and reach Katra at 12.05 pm.
World's tallest rail arch bridge is a part of project
"The 18 km Banihal-Qazigund section was operational in 2013, the 25 km Udhampur-Katra in 2014, the Banihal to Sangaldan in 2023 and now the Sangaldan to Katra section will be operational. The world's tallest rail arch bridge, Chenab Bridge, is a part of this project. The tunnels, bridges and valleys will make rail travel more enjoyable," he added.
Indian Railways launched India's first indigenous semi-high-speed train Vande Bharat Express and it is regarded as a 'Make in India' success story.
The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on February 15, 2019, on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route, running at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour.
(With ANI inputs)