Railway Link to Kashmir Valley: Katra to be mandatory stop for trains

Srinagar, Jan 09: Ahead of the inauguration of much awaited Katra-Banihal railway section on January 26, all trains bound for Srinagar will be required to stop at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Railway Station (Katra) in Jammu and passengers will need to de-board and transfer to a different train for the continuation of their journey, officials on Thursday said.
A senior Northern Railways Officer told Rising Kashmir that there will be no direct train between Kashmir and New Delhi due to security protocols. Katra will serve as a mandatory trans-shipment point for trains traveling to and from Valley.
“We have recently released the time timetable of the trains including the Vander Bharat train. All the trains from Srinagar or New Delhi will stop at Katra, where passengers have to board another train for their onward journeys,” he said.
The official said there are security concerns suggested by the various agencies and this decision is temporary for all trains heading to Srinagar. It can be amended later. “The issue has been taken with the Ministry of Railways,” he said.
“Passengers will have to check and screen their luggage to maintain safety during travel, ” he said, adding that they expect that people would cooperate.
Meanwhile, all preparations have been completed, and successful trials runs have paved the way for the train’s launch. “We are now ready to operationalise the Katra-Srinagar train link,” he said.
The official said that the service will provide a faster and more efficient transportation option, enhancing connectivity and transforming travel across the region.
Recently, Northern Railways also released the train schedules for the Katra-Srinagar route. The Vande Bharat Express will depart from Katra at 8:10 am, arriving in Srinagar at 11:20 am.
The Mail Express will operate two daily services from Katra to Srinagar, departing at 9:50 am and 3:00 pm, with arrival times at 1:10 pm and 6:20 pm, respectively.
It said that for the return journey, the Mail Express will leave Srinagar at 8:55 am, reaching Katra by 12:05 pm. The Vande Bharat Express will depart from Srinagar at 12:45 pm, arriving in Katra at 3:55 pm. Another Mail Express service will leave Srinagar at 3:10 pm, completing its journey by 6:30 pm.
On Jan 08, Indian Railways successfully conducted a rising grade speed trial from Katra to Banihal in Jammu and Kashmir along the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, marking a significant milestone.
Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) for the Northern Circle, Dinesh Chand Deshwal, told reporters that the speed train trial on the Katra-Banihal rail line was successful and train service to Srinagar can start very shortly.
“The decision will be made after analyzing data from the two-day statutory inspection. We would return to Katra to analyze the data collected during the inspection before finalizing the start of the direct train services,” he said.