The first Vande Bharat train from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (Code SVDK) to Srinagar (Code SINA) was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a week ago, on June 6. From Srinagar, another train was flagged off by Minister of State for Railway Ravneet Singh Bittu around the same time. A couple of days later, two of these trains started making trips between Katra and Srinagar, on regular basis.
Two Vande Bharat trains, one leaving Katra and another leaving Srinagar, start around 8 am. These trains take around three hours to reach their destinations (2.58 to be exact). The two classes of berths available are CC (Chair Car) and EC (Executive Chair), with the rates of these categories pegged at Rs 710 and Rs 1,320 respectively.
In the afternoons too, Vande Bharat trains are available from Katra and Srinagar. From Katra, the train starts at 2.55 PM while as from Srinagar, the train starts at 2 PM.
What is interesting is that all the tickets have been lapped up for the next one month and it is only on July 18 that any tickets are available. Besides, it needs to be mentioned that tickets for both the categories, CC and EC, have been booked by the passengers. As such, those passengers desirous of making this journey can only do so by booking through Tatkal quota. Not that there are too many seats available there too as the number of seats in CC category under Tatkal is only 24.
According to Station Superintendant of Katra railway Station Jugal Kishore Sharma, these trains are getting an overwhelming response from the passengers, tourists and locals alike. “The demand is so high that there are no seats available for weeks altogether,’’ he said.
The reason for the curiosity among would-be passengers is because of the scenic route and the thrill its offers to move at such a high speed, once difficult to imagine here, he surmised. The excellent facilities these trains offer are an added bonus, according to Mohinder Pant, a Jammuite who is planning to undertake this journey from Katra to Srinagar on June 21, along with his wife Renu Sharma. He said the novelty of the journey is what attracted him to it.
Pant has been travelling on the Jammu to Srinagar axis by road for the last 30 years, or more. He has done countless journeys travelling between these two points by air too as he had to travel often due to his banking job. However, at one time it was almost unthinkable that one day there will be trains plying between the two regions, the Jammu division and Kashmir, he said. He said he is excited regarding the forthcoming journey.
He said he is undertaking the journey as a short trip as he can’t take too many holidays. Yet, during the trip to Kashmir, he plans to visit Gulmarg one day and also pay his respects at Shankaracharya temple.
There are several others like him who would also like to undertake this journey but may have to wait for a month at least as all the tickets have been snapped up. National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah travelled from Srinagar to Katra and back a couple of days ago. He was accompanied by his grandsons Zamir and Zahid (sons of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah) during this trip, and several party leaders.
Dr Abdullah said that a train connection to Kashmir was no less than a dream come true for him and a hugely positive development. This rail link will prove to be immensely useful to ordinary Kashmiris in the coming days as more services are added.
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