Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday flagged off the new Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18, from New Delhi Railway Station to Vaishno Devi, Katra, Jammu.  Katra is the last station on the way to famous Hindu pilgrimage Vaishno Devi.

The train will reduce the journey time between Delhi and Katra to eight hours from the usual travel time of 12 hours in this route.

Vande Bharat Express is a luxurious all air-conditioned train with chair car service and 16 coaches. Amit Shah called it a big gift for Jammu and Kashmir’s development. 

The first commercial run from Delhi to Katra will be on October 5, 2019. The booking is open on the official website of IRCTC for a fare ranging between Rs 1630 to Rs 3015.

The Vande Bharat Express is an engine-less self-propelled train set that can reduce travel time by 40 per cent. This train has windows with a special provision to protect against stone-pelting and a cattle guard in the front to prevent damage to the train or derailment in cases of cattle run, as per reports.

Home minister Amit Shah flags off the Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express train at New Delhi railway station.
��The high-speed train will bring down the travel time between Delhi and Katra, the last station on way to the Vaishno Devi temple, to 8 hours from the current 12 pic.twitter.com/2EzjPf4Yea

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) October 3, 2019

The Vande Bharat Express was designed and built by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai under central government’s Make in India initiative over a span of 18 months. 

The train that will operate six days from New Delhi, except on Tuesday and will also operate six days from Katra, except on Tuesday.

The first semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express was launched earlier in February this year which travels on the route from Delhi to Varanasi. 

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