Jammu, April 15: The much-anticipated inauguration of the train service from Katra—the base camp of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji shrine—to Kashmir has been postponed due to an adverse weather forecast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to launch the service on April 19, but the event has now been deferred following predictions of heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir on April 18 and 19.
Reports quoted Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr. Jitendra Singh, as saying that the decision to postpone the inauguration was taken in view of the unfavorable weather conditions predicted during the Prime Minister’s visit.
As per the original itinerary, PM Modi was to land at the Udhampur defence airport, fly by helicopter to the Chenab Rail Bridge—the highest railway bridge in the world—then travel by train to Katra. He was to inaugurate both the Chenab Bridge and India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge over the Anji Khad, flag off the Vande Bharat Express between Katra and Baramulla, and address a massive rally at Katra Stadium.
Sources said the Prime Minister’s visit is likely to be rescheduled after the India tour of U.S. Vice President JD Vance and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, which begins on April 21 and is expected to last four days. The new date for the inauguration is expected to fall in late April or early May.
Meanwhile, the Railways conducted a successful trial run of a special Vande Bharat train today on the Katra-Sangaldan stretch of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Line (USBRL). Over the past three months, eight trial runs have been completed across various key sections of the route, including over the iconic Chenab Arch Bridge and the Anji Khad Bridge.
The Chenab Bridge, which spans 1,315 meters with a 467-meter main arch, stands taller than the Eiffel Tower and is designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 266 kmph. Of the total USBRL stretch, 209 km has already been commissioned in phases, with the final 17-km section between Reasi and Katra completed in December 2024—paving the way for Kashmir’s full rail connectivity with the rest of the country.
