Sunday 31 July 2016

Learn How To Start at Katra Railway Station-"Gift for the nation"




After a prolonged wait, pilgrims will be able to directly reach Katra, the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine by rail, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first train from the station nestled in Trikuta Hills in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district.

"The journey started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be continued... our priority is to win the hearts of every citizen of this state through development," Modi said.The Prime Minister said the new rail link will speed up the process of development in the state.He said railways is an environment-friendly mode of transport and it will be spread in Jammu and Kashmir.

The project was started by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and after it completed , inagurated by Modi.

Mata Vaishno pilgrims have to reach Jammu by Railway ,Roadways and Airway.
Buses leave for Katra every 10 minutes from the main bus stand at Jammu between 5.30 am to 8.30 pm. During rush periods, additional buses are also pressed into service between Jammu and Katra. Private Taxis are also available for hire between Jammu and Katra. These can be hired from Jammu Airport, Jammu Railway Station and the Tourist Reception Centre at Jammu. The change of transport at Jammu station,  now can be reduced. As railway introduced rail line till Katra. Its great achievement for tourist and local crowd.

I am going to share my personal experience too. I used to go by train , the name I remember "Jammutavi express" to Jammu. Then my  family hired a taxi to Katra. I have visited Katra so many times.
Sometime, we have catched a bus to Katra after Jammu. I hope that the change of transport can be reduced now. Railway line till Katra will definitely help us in decreasing the arrival time to katra and also will decrease our exchaustion.

With a view to provide an alternative and a reliable transportation system to Jammu & Kashmir, Govt. of India planned a 345 km. long Railway Line joining the Kashmir Valley with the Indian Railways network. The Project has been declared as a Project of National Importance.

The Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Quazigund-Baramulla Railway line is the biggest project in the construction of a mountain railway since independence. From Jammu to Baramulla, length of the new rail line is 345 km. It passes through the young Himalayas, tectonic thrusts and faults. The work on Jammu-Udhampur section ( 53 Km) has been completed and opened to public by Hon’ble Prime Minister in Apr’05.

The 25-km long Udhampur-Katra line, commissioned after prolonged delays,crore.The new link boasts of Jhajjar bridge, the country's longest steel girder structure which is 85 metres high. The train will also
pass through a 3.1 km long tunnel.


 The train will traverse through seven tunnels and over 30 small and large bridges. There will be a small station - Chakrakhwal - between Udhampur and Katra
has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,132.75


Till now there are three local train services between Jammu and Udhampur and all these will now be extended to Katra. six trains would be running from the Katra station to different destinations in the country and three sets of local trains would also be running from Jammu to the station.

Railways is considering extending Jammu Mail and Sampark Kranti Express up to Katra, besides introducing new trains, including Katra-Kalka Express, New Delhi-Katra AC Express.There is also a possibility of launching a new train between Varanasi and Katra, a railway official said, adding the purpose is to connect two holy places by train. An estimated 10 million devotees visit the shrine every year.

This leg is the toughest section, full of tunnels and bridges/ viaducts,
 that has been constructed on the Indian Railways. It is much tougher terrain than Konkan Railway. The terrain in this region is full of poor geology and faults. Tunneling and bridging is a challenge greater than that was met on Jammu-Udhampur or Udhampur-Katra section and will be a matter of pride for the engineers of Indian Railways.


In 1898, Maharana Rana Prathap Singh first explored to connect Jammu with Srinagar. But due to non-co ordination and other reasons, it stopped. After Independence, it came into light, but due to financial problem of country it stopped. This line was later proposed in 1983 under Indira Gandhi rule and work was started. In April 2005, this line was completed up to Udhampur from Jammu side and up to Banihal from Srinagar side. Pirpanjal railway tunnel was completed and testing were being conducted in 2012.The rail link is inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4,2014 at 10:00 A.M. It had been inaugurated on July 4 ,2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Katra station is equipped with modern facilities.
The Ground Floor of Katra railway station has Escalators, Lifts, Current reservation,Second Class booking, Train enquiry section, Pilgrim guide Tourist assistance, VIP lounge,fully air-conditioned hotel with a shopping lounge, multi-cuisine Restaurant, Cloak Room, Waiting hall, Book stall, Tea stall, Toilet blocks and Catering area and the first floor accommodate 8 retiring rooms and a cafeteria.
A huge parking place also constructed to accommodate
cars and passenger buses.

The Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine is linked to the Base Camp Katra with a 13 Kms track. The entire uphill Journey from Katra to Bhawan is on foot, however, one can hire ponies, palkies or pithoo for ease of journey. Recently Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has started the air taxi services between Jammu, Katra and Sanjichat at the normal rates.

Mata Vaishno devotee has this gift of comfort and can easily go for this religious trip- "Jai Mata Di".




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