Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat services to begin from May 2

Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat services to begin from May 2Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw will flag off a 20-coach Vande Bharat Express train between Jammu and Srinagar on Thursday, while services for the general public will commence on May 2.

The direct train services between Srinagar and Jammu will reduce travel time between the twin capitals of Jammu and Kashmir and boost tourism, besides providing an all-weather surface transport link.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first direct train service between Katra and Srinagar on June 6, 2025. This service is now being extended up to the Jammu Tawi railway



station.

The work on the Rs 28,000-crore rail project, linking Kashmir to the rest of the country, began in the late 1990s, with the first train operating in the Kashmir valley in October 2008.

While train services had reached Udhampur by 2005, the treacherous terrain through the mountainous Pir Panjal range made it difficult to link the valley with the rest of the country till 2025.

“The modern 20-coach Vande Bharat train will commence its maiden journey from Jammu Tawi (JAT), traversing the route up to Srinagar while connecting the challenging geographical terrains of the Valley,” the officials said.