Srinagar, June 19 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday boarded the Vande Bharat train at Srinagar to reach Katra in Reasi district.

Posting videos and pictures from the moving train, the CM said on X, “Time to head to Jammu”.

Last week, his father and former chief minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, travelled on the Vande Bharat train from Srinagar to Katra and back.

Dr Farooq Abdullah stayed for the night at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, where he joined prayers during the night and in the morning before heading back to Srinagar.

The Vande Bharat train takes three hours to reach Srinagar from Katra. In September this year, after work at the Jammu railway station is completed, the Vande Bharat train will run between Jammu and Srinagar.

The train service was inaugurated on June 6 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The rail link from Katra to Srinagar has the world’s highest railway bridge on the Chenab River, which is 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower of Paris.

The rail link has the Anji cable-stayed bridge, which is India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge. The state-of-the-art Vande Bharat train has been specially built to suit the extreme weather and topography of the Himalayan region.

Vande Bharat Express trains offer a range of modern amenities and enhanced safety features for a comfortable travel experience. These include automatic doors, reclining and revolving seats (in executive class), mobile charging sockets, a mini pantry with hot and cold food options, and improved lighting.

Safety features include CCTV cameras, emergency exits, fire extinguishers, and a KAVACH system for collision avoidance.

The train to Kashmir has been an over 70-year-old dream project that has finally become a reality. It will boost tourism, horticulture, education, trade and also the travelling conveyance for the common man.

The train service also addresses the uncertainty about the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The highway often gets closed due to landslides/mudslides and shooting stones, resulting in shortages of essentials of life in the landlocked Valley.

–IANS

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