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PM Modi will inaugurate Vande Bharat train service from Katra to Srinagar on June 6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first Vande Bharat train service to Kashmir on June 6, railway officials said on Tuesday (June 3, 2025).
While earlier the plan was to inaugurate the 272-km Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project on April 19, the programme got deferred due to unsuitable weather conditions. The Pahalgam attack on April 22 led to further deferment of the inauguration.
Prior to the terror attack, Mr. Modi was set to travel to Srinagar for the inauguration. Now, he will flag off the train from Katra on Jammu side, officials said.
The Vande Bharat train journey from Katra to Srinagar will reduce the travel time to merely three hours. 'Currently the road route takes at least six to seven hours,' railway officials said.
Currently railway services are operational between Barammulla - Srinagar to Sangaldan in the Kashmir valley. 'Now that Sangaldan has been connected to Katra in Jammu via rail, trains can run between the whole stretch,' officials said.
Mr. Modi is likely to flag off two Vande Bharat trains, with one running from Katra to Srinagar and the other running from Srinagar to Katra.
Also read | Railways unveils Vande Bharat, specially designed for winters in J&K, for Katra-Srinagar route
The Kashmir version of Vande Bharat is equipped with climate-specific adaptations to provide advance heating systems in sub-zero temperatures, driver's front lookout glass embedded with heating elements for defrosting, and to ensure clear visibility during harsh winters.
While the ambitious project to connect Kashmir by train began in 1997, it was commissioned in bits and parts and faced multiple delays due to geographical challenges posed by the terrain.
In 2009, Qazigund - Baramulla section in Kashmir was rendered operation, following which in 2013, the 18-km Banihal - Qazigund section, and in 2014 - the 24-km Udhampur - Katra section was started. In 2023, the section between Banihal and Sangaldan was started and now the connectivity between Sangaldan and Katra, which is believed to be the most difficult of all sections has been completed.
The Vande Bharat train will snake through the Chenab Bridge standing 359 meters above mean sea level. At an estimated cost of over ₹40,000 crore, the USBRL project involved laying out ballast less tracks over bridges and tunnels, spanning deep gorges, with 90% of the route traversed over 943 bridges, and 36 main tunnels, including India's longest railway tunnel, T-50 stretching more than 12.7 km.
On the Katra - Banihal section, the train will also traverse another engineering marvel, the Anji Khad bridge, which is India's first cable-stayed bridge. Supported by 96 cables, the 725-meter-long bridge stands 331 meters above mean sea level.
