Jammu, April 30 -- Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw will flag off a 20-coach Vande Bharat Express train between Jammu and Srinagar on April 30, while the services for the general public will commence on May 2. The direct train services between Srinagar and Jammu will reduce the travel time between the twin capitals of Jammu and Kashmir, and boost tourism, besides providing an all-weather surface transport link. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on June 6, 2026, flagged off eight coached Vande Bharat from Srinagar to Katra. This service is now being extended up to the Jammu Tawi Railway station. The Srinagar-Katra Vande Bharat has been consistently running at full capacity, with an overwhelming response from the commuters, thus the decision to extend the number of coaches. The work on the Rs 43,780-crore rail project, linking Kashmir to the rest of the country, began in the late 1990s with the first train operating in theKashmir valley in October2008. Two pairs of services will operate across the corridor, covering a distance of around 267 km (approx), six days a week from Jammu to Srinagar and Srinagar to Jammu. The first service (Train No. 26401) departs Jammu Tawi at 6.20 am, halts at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Reasi, and Banihal, arriving at Srinagar at 11.10 am, a journey of four hours and fifty minutes. During return (Train No. 26402) will leave Srinagar at 2 pm and reaches Jammu Tawi by 6.50 pm. The second service (Train No. 26404) departs Srinagar at 8 am, halts at Banihal and Katra, and arrives at Jammu Tawi by 12:40 pm. Its return (Train No. 26403) departs Jammu Tawi at 1.20 pm and reaches Srinagar by 6 PM. This pair runs six days a week, except Wednesday. Until now, pilgrims and passengers arriving at Jammu Tawi Railway Station, which is one of the busiest railheads in northern India, connecting trains from Delhi, Mumbai, and beyond had to change trains or arrange separate road transport to reach Katra. With the extension, they will be able to board the Vande Bharat directly at Jammu Tawi and reach the Vaishno Devi base camp at Katra, and travel onwards all the way to Srinagar, without a single interchange. Vaishnaw will also inspect the Anji and the Chenab Bridge on the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL). The USBRL, built at a total cost of Rs.43,780 crore with 36 tunnels spanning 119 km and 943 bridges, is the connective tissue that makes all of it possible....