'Historic Moment': Passenger To NDTV On Taking First Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Train

A passenger, travelling on the first Vande Bharat Express train from Katra to Srinagar, couldn't contain his excitement and called it a "historic moment". The train — connecting Katra and Srinagar — was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

Speaking to NDTV, the passenger said, "We're witnessing history."

The passenger said he had specially come from Jammu to experience for train journey. 

Strong security arrangements were in place, with commandos, police officers, and Reserve Police Force (RPF) personnel deployed to ensure the safety of the train.

Two Vande Bharat Express trains will run between Srinagar and Katra via Banihal six days a week, except Wednesday.

The train is scheduled to depart Srinagar at 8 am, arrive at Banihal at 9:02 am, and arrive in Katra at 10:58 am. At 2:55 pm, it will leave Katra and arrive in Srinagar at 5:53 pm.

This train has several extra amenities to meet the demands of passengers and overcome operating challenges in the harsh weather. 

The Kashmir Vande Bharat Express is specially designed to handle temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius. It is equipped with heated windscreens, an air dryer system, and a 5 kVA transformer, as it is fully run on electricity.

It is also equipped with fully air-conditioned coaches and modern amenities such as automatic plug doors, mobile charging sockets and CCTV facilities.

The train includes innovative heating systems that keep the vacuum system functioning with warm air even when temperatures drop below zero. Additionally, the washrooms are thermally insulated to keep pipes and toilet tanks from freezing.

The Vande Bharat Express would reduce the travel time between Katra and Srinagar by two to three hours.