Much Awaited Udhampur-Katra Rail Link Undergoes 'Final' Trial Run
The good news for the devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi is that the Udhampur-Katra Rail Link has recently undergone a final trial run. If news reports are anything to be believed, the rail route will officially kick-start in January, 2014.
Online, December 12, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The long wait to build connectivity between Udhampur and the holy town of Katra will soon come to an end. If news sources are anything to be believed, the final trial run on Udhampur-Katra rail link was conducted yesterday under the supervision of Northern Railways in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The project was officially started by V.K. Gupta who flagged off the final trial run from Udhampur to Katra. The completion of the Udhampur-Katra Rail Link will enable passengers especially the pilgrims to travel directly to the revered shrine of mata Vaishno Devi from any part of the country."This will be the final trial run and in case there will be any technical snag in the functioning, it will be repaired as early as possible," a source added.
The Udhampur-Katra rail link project was proposed by the Indian Railways in association with the Jammu & Kashmir Government. In this project, they settled on a middle ground wherein passengers can board a train to Katra on a single ticket. However, in January next year, the train will officially start its operations after being inaugurated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The train will directly connect with Delhi, Chandigarh and Ahmadabad.
"Though, no final date for inauguration has been fixed so far, but the project to be inaugurated likely by the Prime Minister in January," sources said.The project was proposed in 1998 followed by commencement of groundwork in 1999 and the deadline to link Katra with the rest of the country was 2005. But due to some natural challenges, the project faced several hurdles and was brought to a halt in 2006 and 2011 consecutively.
When Udhampur-Katra Rail Link is initiated it is estimated that Vaishno Devi Tour will bloom again. Tourists from all around the world come to love the religious destination of Vaishno Devi.
Katra Railway Station is already packed with modern facilities such as cloak room, tourist guide center, VIP lounge, lifts, waiting hall and parking space.