The North Central Railway began a direct train service from Subedarganj station in Prayagraj to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday in response to a long-standing request from devotees, according to officials.
The Katra Jammu Mail will leave the station in Subedarganj every day at 10:35 am and arrive at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 9:15 am the next day, according to North Central Railway PRO Amit Malviya. He further said that the train would pass via several cities including Fatehpur, Govindpuri, Tundla, Aligarh, Chipiyana Buzurg, Delhi, Sabzi Mandi, Narela, Sonipat, Ganaur, Samalkha, Kurukshetra and Ambala Cantt.
On the return journey, the train will leave from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 3:20 pm every day and arrive in Subedarganj at 12:35 pm the next day.
Praveen Patel, the MP for Phulpur, where Prayagraj is located, said, “It is a very auspicious day for the people of Prayagraj. The long-standing demand of direct rail service to Mata Vaishno Devi Dham has been fulfilled. Earlier, people had to transit through Delhi and deal with a lot of difficulties there. He further added that the government’s ‘gift’ to the people of Prayagraj would also benefit devotees of surrounding districts, since they would be able to visit Mata Vaishno Devi by travelling directly to Katra.
(with PTI inputs)