Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express Extension To Jammu Unlikely In Near Future

By Amir Tantray

Jammu: The much-discussed Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express is unlikely to be extended to Jammu or beyond anytime soon, as the project continues to face several bottlenecks, officials said.

The highly anticipated rail link made history by providing direct connectivity to the summer capital, Srinagar, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged it off on June 6 last year. While people have eagerly awaited its extension to Jammu, progress has been delayed due to remodelling work at Jammu Tawi Railway Station.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (SDCM) of Jammu Division, Uchit Singhal, said that efforts were being made to augment more coaches in the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express.

“Sooner or later, this train will be extended to Jammu and other destinations, but we must first address maintenance challenges and platform limitations. We also plan to complete engineering work on the track during the fog season, when trains are often cancelled, aiming to finish by the end of March,” he said.

The extension of the Vande Bharat Express also depends on the remodelling of Jammu Tawi Railway Station, a project which has been going on a fast-track basis, Singhal said.

“The remodelling is a huge project, and currently work is going on at the second entry, whereas track work has been completed. Now, the focus will shift on platforms so that once the platforms are completed, we can start dismantling the building of the railway station entry on the Trikuta Nagar side,” he said.

Currently, passengers wanting to travel to Kashmir by train have to travel up to Katra to board the Vande Bharat train, whereas, due to the limitations of seats and coaches in the train, not many people can get the tickets. Besides Vande Bharat, there are no plans of the Railways yet to start new trains directly to Kashmir from other parts of the country.

Currently, passengers travelling to and from Kashmir by train have a transit at Jammu and Katra before they board the train for their onward journey. Limited seating and a fixed number of coaches mean that many passengers are unable to secure tickets. Apart from the Vande Bharat service, the Railways has not yet announced any plans to introduce additional trains directly connecting Kashmir with other parts of the country.

Jammu Division completed one year after it was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on January 6, 2025, but its gazette notification was issued in the month of June. Since then, several works have been initiated, and the time has remained challenging for the newly established division.

“The year 2025 has remained challenging, especially after the Pahalgam attack and the exodus of tourists from the valley. After that, when the Vande Bharat train was inaugurated by the PM on June 6, around 3.75 lakh tourists and others travelled by Vande Bharat between Srinagar and Katra till December. During and after Operation Sindoor, the Jammu division of the railway played an important role in running special trains,” Singhal said.

He informed us that the Railways run freight trains, first by transporting cherries and then transporting around 20000 tonnes of apples during the apple season.

“For the first time, apples were carried by the Railways, and that too at a time when, during the monsoon, the Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed due to heavy rain and floods,” he said, adding that flood special trains were run despite facing challenging times.

“The year 2025 remained challenging for the Jammu Division of Railways, but it also achieved many things which were appreciated and recognised not only by the Railway Board but also by the railway ministry as well by giving Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar (VRSP),” the SDCM said.

“We hope that in 2026, the Jammu division will also work with the same zeal and zest for the welfare of people. The recognition of the work during the challenge is a huge thing, not only on my personal front but on the family front as well. This was a big moment for the Commercial Division staff as well as for the entire staff of the Jammu Division,” he said.

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