RailEnquiry

Ten new trains, including a fully air conditioned one to Katra in Jammu, are among the good news that the Rail Budget brought for the national Capital on Tuesday.The new train to Katra is crucial since the Northern Railway is preparing to start the Udhampur-Katra rail section in a couple of months. The section will provide lakhs, most of them pilgrims, direct rail connectivity to Katra, the base station for Vaishno Devi. Nine out of these 10 long-distance trains would originate and terminate at various stations of Delhi while one train will pass through Hazrat Nizamuddin station.However, there was not much for daily passengers in terms of local trains that cater to the Capital’s suburban areas and its satellite towns. Only one new local train between Delhi and Kurukshetra was announced in the budget. The Kaithal-Delhi direct train service will be a DEMU train (Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit) running between Delhi to Kurukshetra via Kaithal. Currently 284 local trains are catering to commuters between the national capital and its satellite towns.

“Out of the new trains announced in the budget, three trains each will operate from Anand Vihar and Old Delhi stations. Similarly, two trains will operate from Hazrat Nizamuddin station while one train will run via Nizamuddin. The new trains from Katra will operate from New Delhi station,” said a railway official. The train between New Delhi and Katra would provide the nearest connectivity to the Kashmir Valley.