Railway plans TN to Kashmir train service

RAIL passengers, tourists and pilgrims from Tamil Nadu will soon be able to make an affordable and seamless train journey to the picturesque valleys of Kashmir.

- B ANBUSELVAN

The Southern Railway is planning to introduce the Amrit Bharat Express that will connect either Kanniyakumari, the southernmost town of India, or Rameswaram, the tip of the Indian peninsula, to Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The new train service would run for a length of over 4,000 kilometres.

The Amrit Bharat rake has a high-speed push-pull configuration, equipped with engines at both ends, capable of reaching speeds of up to 130 kmph. It has been designed to offer Vande Bharat-like comfort for non-AC passengers.

This initiative comes as the 111-km Katra-Banihal section, the last leg of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, is set to be inaugurated next month.

At present, the only way for visitors from the state to reach Kashmir is either by road or by air.