Jammu-Kashmir train aims to tackle sub-zero temps

The tailor-made Vande Bharat Express, which will be the first ever train to link Jammu with Kashmir, is ready and has been brought to Delhi, said officials aware of the matter.

- Neha LM Tripathi

NEW DELHI:

The train, being maintained by the Northern Railway in Shakur Basti in north Delhi, is built to operate even in sub-zero temperatures, with a raft of advanced heating systems baked in to keep passengers comfortable and keep the locomotive from freezing, said the people cited above.

Railway officials aware of the matter said Prime Minister Narendra Modi may inaugurate the crucial link towards the end of the month.

"The journey from Jammu to Srinagar, which takes eight or nine hours by road, will be drastically reduced to three hours and ten minutes," said Himanshu Shekhar, chief public relations officer of Northern Railways.