The Kashmir valley will soon be connected with rest of the country by a rail link when Vande Bharat Express starts operating between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) railway station to Srinagar railway station. The train will pass through the Chenab bridge – the world’s highest rail bridge. The operations are expected to start in February, less than a month after Indian Railways conducted the a trial run of the specially designed Vande Bharat. The train will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Launch Date

Though no official confirmation has come from Indian Railways or any other government authority, several outlets are claiming that the train will be inaugurated on February 17. PM Modi will inaugurate the Sangaldan-Riyasi track from Katra. After this, the Vande Bharat train service will start directly from Katra to Srinagar.

Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat: Ticket Price

While the final ticket prices are yet to be officially announced, estimates suggest:

• AC Chair Car: Rs 1,500-Rs 1,600
• Executive Chair Car: Rs 2,200-Rs 2,500

These fares are subject to change upon official confirmation.

Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat: Expected Route And Stoppages

The train operates on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), connecting key stations like:

• Katra
• Udhampur
• Banihal
• Qazigund
• Anantnag
• Awantipora

This train will significantly reduce travel time between Jammu and Srinagar, offering passengers a comfortable and efficient journey.

Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat: Timings

Northern Railway had last month announced train timings for the Katra-Srinagar route. According to it, the Vande Bharat Express train will leave from Katra at 8.10 am and arrive in Srinagar at 11.20 am. From Srinagar, the train will leave at 8.55 am and reach Katra at 12.05 pm.

Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat: Features

These special trains are equipped with enhanced safety features and modern passenger amenities, like KAVACH anti-collision system, faster acceleration, fully sealed gangway, automatic plug doors, better ride comfort, mini pantry with provision of hot case, bottle cooler, deep freezer and hot water boiler, reclining ergonomic seats, comfortable seating with revolving seats in executive class, mobile charging sockets for every seat and CCTVs.

These trains have been designed for extreme cold conditions and can operate in temperature as low as minus twenty (-20) degrees Celsius, claim reports. The bio-toilets in these train rakes will have provisions to prevent water from freezing.

About Vande Bharat Trains

As many as 136 Vande Bharat train services having chair cars are operational on the Indian Railways network as of January 2025, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply last week.

The minister also said that overall occupancy in these trains is almost 100 per cent.

Indian Railways has responded to a passenger’s tweet after he discovered that his booked window seat on a Vande Bharat train was actually an aisle seat when he boarded. The passenger took to social media platform X to share his grievance, posting a photo of his ticket, which clearly showed he had booked a window seat. However, a second image revealed that the seat in question was, in fact, an aisle seat, sparking the passenger’s concern. Though he said he didn’t have any problem with his current seat, he noted that the issue might create future seating inconveniences for other passengers.

“Just a gentle reminder to check seats 33 & 34 of C8 in 22435 for Window and Aisle Seating arrangement. I don’t have any problem with my current seat but this might become a problem for future passengers,” the tweet by Abhijeet Anand read. 

See the tweet here:

@IndianRailMedia@RailMinIndia@RailwaySeva Just a gentle reminder to check the seats 33 & 34 of C8 in 22435 for Window and Aisle Seating arrangement. I don’t have any problem with my current seat but this might become a problem for future passengers. pic.twitter.com/T6zd6Ndoz6

— Abhijeet Anand (@abhijeet10anand) December 15, 2024

Reacting to his tweet, Railways Seva said, “For necessary action escalated to the concerned official @Drm_dli. We request you to please share Mobile No. with us preferably via DM. You may also raise your concern directly on http://railmadad.indianrailways.gov.in or dial 139 for speedy redressal.”

Mr Anand thanked the Railways for the quick response and said that two people came and rectified the error. “Thank you for your prompt response. Two people came and addressed the issue of the incorrect seating arrangements. It is truly commendable that Indian Railways took action and marked the problem within 40 minutes,” he wrote.

The Vande Bharat Express is an indigenously manufactured, semi-high-speed, self-propelled train set. It features modern amenities such as fully air-conditioned coaches, GPS-based passenger information systems, comfortable seating, and automatic doors. Designed for speeds of up to 180 km/h, it significantly reduces travel time between major cities. 

A passenger’s Vande Bharat train journey turned unsavoury when he found insects in the meal served to him. Visuals shared on social media showed black insects floating in sambhar served in an aluminium container.

Several passengers on the same train – travelling from Tirunelveli to Chennai – complained that even though the train service was good, the food provided was not satisfactory.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore shared one such video and sought to know what steps were being taken to address the issue.

“Passengers have raised concerns over hygiene and IRCTC’s accountability. What steps are being taken to address this and ensure food safety on premium trains?” he posted on X.

Dear @AshwiniVaishnaw ji ,live insects were found in the food served on the Tirunelveli-Chennai #VandeBharatExpress

Passengers have raised concerns over hygiene and IRCTC’s accountability.
What steps are being taken to address this and ensure food safety on premium trains? pic.twitter.com/auR2bqtmip

— Manickam Tagore .Bமாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) November 16, 2024

The railways responded to the complaint and said that an “immediate investigation was conducted” and the food package was handed over to a health inspector at Dindigul station.

The investigation found that the insect was stuck on the lid of the food package, the railways said.

It also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the service provider for this incident.

Railways is committed to ensuring the quality of food and passenger complaints are being resolved promptly, it said.

This is not the first such instance reported from a Vande Bharat train. A few months ago, a man claimed on social media that he found a cockroach in his meal.

Vande Bharat trains – a medium-distance superfast express service – are a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative by the government. High Speed, enhanced Safety standards and world-class Service are the hallmarks of this train, according to the Ministry of Railways.

New Delhi:

Five people have been arrested for allegedly throwing stones at the Vande Bharat Express train during its trial run in Chhattisgarh, officials said today. The train, scheduled to run from Chhattisgarh’s Durg to Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam, was set to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

The stones were pelted on the Vande Bharat train at the Bagbahara railway station while it was returning from Visakhapatnam Friday morning, officials said.

No injuries were reported but the multi-layered windows of three coaches of the train were damaged.

The accused, identified as Shiv Kumar Baghel, Devendra Kumar, Jeetu Pandey, Sonwani, and Arjun Yadav, broke the windows of three coaches of the train, C2-10, C4-1, C9-78, officials said.

A case has been filed against the accused — residents of Bagbahara — under the Railways Act, 1989.

Besides Durg to Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat train, PM Modi is scheduled to flag off India’s first Vande Metro from Gujarat’s Bhuj to Ahmedabad and the first 20-coach Vande Bharat train from Varanasi to Delhi on Monday.

He will also launch Vande Bharat trains on the following routes – Tatanagar to Patna, Nagpur to Secunderabad, Kolhapur to Pune, Agra Cantt to Banaras, and Pune to Hubballi.

Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: A.M. FARUQUI

Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd on April 15 said it has received an order of ₹270 crore from a consortium led by BHEL to supply bogie frames of Vande Bharat train sets.

The scope of the project involves the development and validation of the bogie frames for the sleeper version of the Vande Bharat train sets, Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd (RKFL) said in a statement.

This order encompasses 32 train sets, each comprising 16 coaches and RKFL will be producing a total of 1,024 bogie frames, it said.

The order valued at ₹270 crore is to be supplied to the BHEL TRSL consortium, the statement said.

Lalit Kumar Khetan, Whole Time Director & CFO, Ramkrishna Forgings Limited said, “Securing the prestigious order is an indication to our relentless pursuit of excellence and innovative approach. We…support the Make in India and the advancement of rail transport in the country by leveraging our expertise in manufacturing high-quality bogie frames.” Kolkata-based Ramkrishna Forgings is a manufacturer and supplier of closed-die forgings of carbon and alloy steel, micro-alloy steel, and stainless steel forgings.

The company also has a presence in the US, Mexico, Turkey, and Belgium.

Video of a new version of the popular Vande Bharat train is going viral on social media. It shows the train in Solapur, on its way to Mumbai. Though Indian Railways has not assigned any name to the new series of train, social media users are calling

Here are five points on the new train: