Jammu: Preparations underway ahead of the flagging off ceremony of the extended Srinagar-Katra Vande Bharat Express by Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw from Jammu Tawi Railway Station (JAT), in Jammu district, Jammu and Kashmir, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (PTI Photo)
Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union MoS Dr Jitendra Singh, along with J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, flagged off an extended Jammu Tawi–Srinagar Vande Bharat Express on Thursday.
The train will run on a regular course from May 2 and will provide not only all-weather connectivity between the two capital cities of Jammu and Kashmir, but will also reduce the travel time between them to less than five hours.
Vaishnaw said, “The 20-coach Vande Bharat service has been launched from Jammu to Srinagar today. A year ago, PM Modi had inaugurated the Jammu-Srinagar link railway line with an 8-coach train that started from Katra… As the 8-coach trains are running at full capacity and since the demand is very high, a special design of 20 coaches was made.”
Speaking about the J&K CM welcoming the project, Vaishnaw said: “Chief Minister openly praised the Vande Bharat services, the railway services, and the Prime Minister’s vision…”
On board the first Vande Bharat train from Jammu to Srinagar, Union Minister Jitendra Singh says, “Immediately after becoming Prime Minister, Modi Ji declared that he would bring those regions and states that had lagged behind the mainstream to a level of equality… What hadn’t happened in 42 years was achieved in 12 years… In 1972, the train reached Jammu for the first time, and then it took 42 years for it to reach Katra in 2014 when PM Modi became Prime Minister… This is proof of the scale and speed with which this progress and development have taken place.”
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