First Vande Bharat Train from Vaishno Devi Katra to Srinagar completes trial run: Know launch date, fare, features

Indian Railways on Saturday conducted the trial run of the first Vande Bharat train from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) railway station to Srinagar railway station. The train will run through Anji Khad Bridge which is India's first cable-stayed railway bridge and Chenab Bridge which is the highest railway bridge in the world. 

This train has been designed keeping in mind the cold climate conditions of the Kashmir valley. On January 23, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that several countries had shown interest in importing semi-high-speed Vande Bharat trains from India. 

"Many countries have shown interest in Vande Bharat," Vaishnaw told ANI when asked if there were queries for the import of the train manufactured in India. And there is one interesting thing that some participants, who are of Indian origin, say that when they were in India, their children say that they want to sit in Vande Bharat," he added.

Indian Railways launched India's first indigenous semi-high-speed train Vande Bharat Express and it is regarded as a 'Make in India' success story. The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on February 15, 2019, on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route, running at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour.

During the financial year 2022-23, approximately 31.84 lakh were booked to travel on Vande Bharat trains. The overall occupancy of Vande Bharat trains during this period has been 96.62 per cent. These trains are equipped with top-tier amenities and advanced safety features, such as Kavach technology, accessible toilets for Divyangjan, and integrated Braille signage. 

In India, there are four new types of trains -- Vande Bharat Chair Car, Vande Bharat Sleeper, Namo Bharat Train, and Amrit Bharat Train." With the constellation of these four trains, the passengers in our country will get good quality services," Vaishnaw said. Testing of Vande Bharat Sleeper is almost complete, and the data is being analysed, before the actual production at Integral Coach Factory, the Minister said. 

Fare:

The ticket fare for this Katra-Srinagar route is yet to be announced. However, prices are likely to range from Rs 1,500-1,600 for AC Chair Car and Rs 2,200-2,500 for Executive Chair Car.

Features:

To remove frost during severe winters, additional changes include heating devices implanted in the windshield. The driver can see clearly even in snow thanks to triple-layered windscreens with heating filaments. Because of these characteristics, the train may function effectively in temperatures as low as -30°C. 

(With inputs from ANI)