New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday flagged off the Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express from the New Delhi Railway Station and said it was a “big gift” for Jammu and Kashmir’s development. Shah also said that Article 370 was the “biggest roadblock” in the state’s development and within 10 years, it will be one of the most developed regions of the country.
“Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express is a big gift for Jammu and Kashmir’s development and for promoting religious tourism,” said Shah, who was accompanied by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Ministers Dr Jitendra Singh and Dr Harsh Vardhan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the flagging-off of the Vande Bharat express and said that it was a “Navratri gift” to all the people of Jammu.
A Navratri gift for my sisters and brothers of Jammu as well as devotees of Maa Vaishno Devi!
The New Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi to Maa Vaishno Devi, Katra will improve connectivity as well as spiritual tourism.
Congratulations to everyone! #VandeBharatMaaKeDwar pic.twitter.com/gPwqlyTARV
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 3, 2019
The high-speed train will bring down the travel time between Delhi and Katra, the last station on way to the Vaishno Devi temple, to eight hours from the current 12 hours.
The first commercial run of the Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express will be on October 5 and booking of tickets is now open on the IRCTC website. The minimum fare for travelling between New Delhi (NDLS) to Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) will be Rs 1,630 and the maximum will be Rs 3,015. The train will run on all days of the week except Tuesdays.
Train number 22439 New Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express will depart from the New Delhi railway station at 6 am to reach Katra at 2 pm.
The luxurious train has facilities such as CCTV surveillance, Bio vacuum toilet, GPS Based information system and onboard Wi-Fi internet. En-route, the train will halt at Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana and Jammu Tawi for two minutes each.
