Railway to run special reserved trains between Katra and Srinagar next week
Jammu (PTI): With recent heavy snowfall disrupting road and air traffic, Northern Railway’s Jammu division has decided to run special reserved trains between SMVD Katra to Srinagar next week to provide relief to the stranded passengers, officials said on Sunday.
The decision to operate special reserved train between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (SMVD) Katra and Srinagar on January 27 and 28 was taken under the directions of Divisional Railway Manager (Jammu) Vivek Kumar, the officials said.
They said the trains were planned keeping in mind the convenience of passengers and the absence of Vande Bharat trains on January 27 and 28.
While Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, was partially opened on Sunday after remaining closed over the past two days owing to heavy snowfall in Banihal sector on Friday, flight operations also witnessed disruptions in the snow-bound Kashmir.
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The weather department has also predicted snowfall in most parts of Kashmir and higher reaches of Jammu from January 26 till January 27 evening.
The officials said the special reserved train will depart on January 27 from SMVD Katra at 8.10 am and arrive at Srinagar at 11 am, with a stop at Banihal Railway Station enroute. On its return journey, the train will depart from Srinagar at 2 pm on the same day and arrive at SMVD Katra at 5 pm with same stoppages enroute.
Similarly, the special reserved train will depart from SMVD Katra at 10.30 am on January 28 and arrive at its destination at 1.30 pm, making a stop at Banihal railway station enroute.
On its return journey, special reserved train number 04630 will depart from Srinagar at 3 pm on the same day and arrive at SMVD Katra at 6 pm. The stops along the route will remain the same, the officials said.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Jammu, Uchit Singhal said the decision to operate this special reserved train has been taken in view of the heavy rain and snowfall warning issued by the Meteorological Department for Jammu and Kashmir on January 27 and 28.
“Earlier, on January 23, flight and road traffic were affected due to snowfall. Following this, stranded passengers were transported from Srinagar to Katra by the Vande Bharat train.
"Considering these circumstances and as an alternative to the Vande Bharat train, this special reserved train is being operated to provide passengers with a suitable option for travel to and from Kashmir,” he said.
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French President Macron concludes Mumbai visit
Mumbai (PTI): French President Emmanuel Macron, along with First Lady Brigitte Macron, left Mumbai for New Delhi on Wednesday after concluding his engagements here, including bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
They were seen off at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport by Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.
On Tuesday, Macron held discussions with Modi as part of efforts to further strengthen India-France strategic ties.
During the Mumbai visit, the French president and his wife also met some of India's top filmmakers and actors, and had an animated exchange with them about cinema, culture and collaboration.
President Macron is on an official visit to India from February 17 to 19 at the invitation of PM Modi to participate in the AI Impact Summit hosted by India in the national capital Delhi, besides the bilateral summit in Mumbai.
PM Modi will inaugurate the summit on February 19. As many as 20 heads of states, including French President Macron, will be present at the inaugural session, Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan said.
