Jammu, April 22 (IANS) Direct train service between Jammu and Srinagar will start on April 30, the Northern Railway officials said on Wednesday.

Officials said that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh, will flag off the service at Jammu railway station.

“Vande Bharat Express will chug between Jammu and Srinagar on April 30. All preparations have been made. The trains and tracks are ready. Trials runs have been successful. Security arrangements are in place. And now, the Railways Minister is scheduled to flag off the Vande Bharat Express train directly from Jammu to Srinagar on April 30,” officials said.

In addition to Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also the Lok Sabha member from Kathua-Udhampur seat, Jugal Kishore, Lok Sabha member from Jammu constituency, will also join the railway minister at the flag-off ceremony.

At present, two Vande Bharat Express trains are operating between Katra and Srinagar, and they will now be extended to Jammu with revised timings to be notified by the Railways Department.

In addition to two Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat trains, two similar trains also run between New Delhi and Katra. The launch of Vande Bharat Express trains will further enhance connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar and also reduce travel time between Jammu and Srinagar.

The dream of a rail link between Kashmir and the rest of the country was nurtured for over a century, but was finally realised when Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the train from Katra town to Srinagar on June 6, 2025.

On the same day, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which provided the Valley with all-weather rail connectivity.

With the annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji starting on July 3, yatris can reach Jammu from across the country and then board a train for Srinagar.

Since all Yatris, tourists and commuters cannot be accommodated in the train service, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway will continue to remain the major source of connectivity between the two divisions of the union territory.

However, in case of adverse weather conditions when the National Highway gets blocked, the train services will be a great source of help for the commuters.

The premium train service, which has been running between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Srinagar for past over 10 months, will now be extended up to Jammu Tawi.

March 1, 2026, was earlier announced as the date for the launch of the direct train between Jammu and Srinagar, but the date was later deferred.

The train, currently operating between Srinagar and Katra with an eight-car Vande Bharat rake, is now likely to run between Jammu and Srinagar with an upgraded 20-car rake.

The Jammu railway division, which looks after operational command in the union territory, was inaugurated in January 2025 and notified from June 1, 2025.

Since then, it has expanded freight operations by setting up goods sheds and handling consignments ranging from military equipment to commercial cargo from different parts of the country.

–IANS

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