Jammu, Jun 8: Northern Railways has started commercial operation of the Vande Bharat train service between Srinagar city and Katra town of Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials said the commercial operations of the Vande Bharat train, which was flagged off on June 6 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, started on Saturday.

The train service connects Katra town of Reasi district with Kashmir Valley. 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.

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 charging points, a comfortable seating arrangement, a facility for food for the passengers, and defrosting technology for the driver’s windshield are some of the special features of this train.

The road journey to Srinagar from Katra would take eight hours, subject to fair weather and road conditions. The Vande Bharat train will take three hours from Katra to Srinagar.

The rail track between Katra and Srinagar has 36 tunnels and hundreds of bridges, including the Chenab Railway bridge, which is the World’s tallest bridge, standing 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower of Paris.

The Anji cable-stayed bridge on this rail link is the country’s first such railway bridge. Both these bridges are regarded as marvels of engineering, for which the Indian Railways has earned appreciation from all over the world.

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway frequently gets blocked due to landslides, mudslides, shooting stones and surface caving in accidents.

Closure of traffic between Srinagar and the rest of the country has now become a nightmare to be forgotten forever, as the Vande Bharat train will operate between Jammu and Srinagar as per its timetable and not be dependent on the weather conditions.

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.

Officials said the goods train will also operate on the track depending on the demand. Apple growers of Kashmir are going to be one of the most benefited classes because of the railway link between Kashmir and the rest of the country, as their produce will now reach the markets in the rest of the country at cheaper freight and well on time.

(IANS)

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