Jammu & Kashmir Vande Bharat: The dream of the people of Kashmir Valley has come true. The Vande Bharat train made its first trial run and reached Srinagar railway station for the first time. This is the first time in independent India that the Kashmir Valley will be connected to the rest of the country through a rail link. Both the people and tourism of Jammu and Kashmir are excited about opening the railway link for the general public.
The Srinagar-New Delhi rail link has been under construction for the last twenty years, and finally, the time has come to connect Srinagar to New Delhi by rail. According to government sources, the Vande Bharat train service from New Delhi to Srinagar via Katra will be inaugurated and started in February. Trials have been conducted and have been successful.
#WATCH | Jammu and Kashmir: Visuals of Vande Bharat train crossing the world’s highest railway bridge Chenab Rail Bridge
Indian Railways today started the trial run of the first Vande Bharat train from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Railway Station Katra to Srinagar. The train will also… pic.twitter.com/6IgVfxCgYk
— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2025
Saqib Yusuf Yatoo, Chief Area Manager of Kashmir Railways, said, “There are around 130 Vande Bharat trains running, but this train has been specially designed to run in the mountain ranges of Jammu and Kashmir. The design has been modified to deal with snow and cold weather conditions. Our Prime Minister’s vision to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country’s rail network has resulted in very fast implementation of the railway project in the last ten years. It will have a seating capacity of over 500 people. Today’s trial run was to see how much time it takes so that we can create a smooth timetable. This will be an all-weather connectivity, which will benefit the locals and tourists visiting the valley.”
Kashmiri people have been waiting for the Srinagar-New Delhi rail link for decades. And ever since Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that a historic milestone had been achieved by completing the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link, there has been a wave of happiness in every community in the valley. From traders to students and from tourists to non-permanent workers, everyone is excited.
Tourism stakeholders are especially happy with the news of the rail link between Srinagar and New Delhi, as the Kashmir Valley is a popular tourist destination. Having a rail link will have the biggest impact on this industry. The number of tourists in Kashmir Valley is expected to increase after the service starts, as it will be a cheap and easy mode of transport to and from the valley.
Mohammad Aqib Dar, a local student, said, “I am extremely happy that we are getting connected to Delhi. We used to face a lot of problems. Vande Bharat will be very beneficial and will make it very easy for the locals. We thank PM Modi for this move for the locals and tourists, and it will be great for the students of the valley who are studying outside the valley.”
The business community in the Kashmir Valley and outside has welcomed this move. Most of the businessmen believe that this will be one of the biggest game-changers in the history of Jammu and Kashmir and will take business and tourism to new heights.
The 800 km-long railway track from Srinagar to New Delhi will be completed in a travel duration of 13 hours, with a stopover at Katra, where passengers will have to get off the train. This railway track, which runs through the toughest terrain of the Himalayas, will have more bridges and tunnels than any other railway track in the whole of India. This track will have around 931 bridges, with 38 tunnels. It will also have the longest train tunnel, the Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel. The bridge includes a length of 11.21 km and also the world’s highest bridge over the Chenab River, with a height of 359 meters, making it higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Tourists visiting the Kashmir Valley have welcomed the move and said that having a train service to Srinagar means less money and affordable travel for the middle class.
Security remains a major concern for the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir regarding the rail service. Most of the security arrangements have already been made along the track. Two wings of security, Railway Police Protection (RPF) and General Railway Police (GRP), are completely dedicated to the security of railway stations and tracks. Every station, every tunnel, and every bridge will have CCTV connectivity. These will be monitored round the clock by railway and security officials in several sub-control rooms.
