Amit Shah flags-off Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 3 flagged off commercial operations of the Vande Bharat Express. The train will run between New Delhi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

The Vande Bharat Express, earlier known as Train 18, will run on the Delhi-Katra route from October 5.

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and ministers Dr Jitendra Singh and Dr Harsh Vardhan were also present at the flagging-off ceremony.

Speaking at the event, Shah said he was proud that the train being flagged-off was 'Made in India'.

The railways is working towards achieving its targets keeping in mind principles of speed, scale and service, he said.

“Before abrogation of Article 370, there were many obstacles in J&K's path to development. In the next 10 years, J&K will be one of the most developed states. The journey of development has begun, with Vande Bharat Express set to boost tourism in the state,” Shah added.

On September 29, the Indian Railways said booking of tickets for this route had opened on the IRCTC website. The train will cut travel time between Delhi and Katra, the last station on the way to Vaishno Devi temple, to eight hours from the current 12 hours.

Just like the previous version, which runs between Delhi and Varanasi, the railways has not applied the dynamic fare principle on the new Vande Bharat train for Delhi-Katra. 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.

Route and schedule

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. En route, the train will halt at Ambala Cantonment, Ludhiana and Jammu Tawi for two minutes each.

On its return journey on the same day, the train -- 22440 Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express -- will leave from the Katra railway station at 3.00 pm to reach the New Delhi railway station at 11.00 pm.

Union Home Min Amit Shah at the flag-off ceremony of Vande Bharat Express from Delhi to Katra: I'm proud that this 'Made in India' train is being flagged-off from here today. The railways is working towards achieving its targets keeping in mind principles of speed,scale&service pic.twitter.com/eN5AFcabka

— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2019

The luxury all air-conditioned chair car service, with 16 coaches, is engine-less and self-propelled. This allows for faster acceleration and deceleration, therefore reducing travel time by 40 percent.

The new train has a bigger pantry compared to the first Train 18 or Vande Bharat Express. It also has windows with a special provision to protect against stone-pelting and a cattle guard in the front to prevent damage to the train or derailment in case of cattle run.

The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The railways is expected to manufacture 40 more such trains by 2022, according to senior officials.

(With inputs from PTI)