Vande Bharat Express: IRCTC opens bookings for New Delhi-Katra train, here is all you need to know about fare, route, timings

The first commercial run of the New Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express will take place on 5 October and booking of tickets is now open on the IRCTC website, the railways said on Sunday. Home minister Amit Shah will flag off the high-speed train on 3 October from Delhi. The bullet-train shaped express will bring down the travel time between Delhi and Katra, the last station on the way to Vaishno Devi temple, (distance between which is 655 kilometres) to eight hours from the current 12 hours. Just like the previous version which runs between New Delhi and Varanasi, the railways has not applied the dynamic fare principle on the new Vande Bharat train for Delhi-Katra. Railway minister Piyush Goyal also took to Twitter to confirm the same, and said in Hindi that “On the auspicious occasion of Navratri, travellers can enjoy the (express) journey from 5 October, now that the booking process has started.”

नवरात्रि के पावन अवसर पर रेलवे नई दिल्ली-कटरा के बीच वन्देभारत एक्सप्रेस शुरू करने जा रही है।

यह नई दिल्ली से सुबह 6AM से चलकर 2PM कटरा पहुंचेगी, तथा कटरा से दोपहर 3PM चलकर रात 11PM दिल्ली पहुंचेगी। 5 अक्टूबर से यात्री इसमे सफर का आनंद ले सकते हैं, बुकिंग प्रक्रिया शुरू है। pic.twitter.com/2u4hdaWSxM

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 29, 2019

Details of the Vande-Bharat Express:

• The minimum fare for travelling between New Delhi (NDLS) to Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) will be Rs 1,630 and the maximum will be Rs 3,015.
• The railways have kept catering optional for passengers. This means, at the time of booking, you can choose not to opt for food and catering charges will not be part of the fare, as reported by Times of India.
• The train will run on all days of the week except Tuesdays.
• Train number 22439 New Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express will depart from the New Delhi railway station at 6 am to reach Katra at 2 pm.
• En route, the train will halt at Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana and Jammu Tawi for two minutes each.
• On the return journey the same day, train number 22440 Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express will leave from the Katra railway station at 3 pm to reach the New Delhi railway station at 11 pm.
• The luxury all air-conditioned chair car service with 16 coaches — comprising of two driver car, two executive coaches and 12 AC chair car coaches — is an engine-less self-propelled trainset which allows for faster acceleration and deceleration, therefore reducing travel time by 40 percent. The maximum speed of this express will be 130 km/hr.
• The new train has a bigger pantry compared to the first Train 18 or Vande Bharat Express. It will also have more comfortable seating designed to provide passengers with a better ride.
• It also 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 case of cattle run.
• The Vande Bharat train has also been equipped with several mod-cons including automatic doors, comfortable seating, bio-vacuum type toilets, GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard hotspot WiFi for entertainment purposes, LED lighting and sufficient pantry space.

The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The railways are expected to manufacture 40 more such trains by 2022, according to senior officials. Indian Railways started this service to accommodate the growing number of devotees to Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage and to provide a smooth and comfortable journey during the festival season. Goyal, on 18 September, informed people that the second Vande Bharat Express completed its trial run to Vaishno Devi and would be rolled out during the Navratri festival. According to Railway Board chairman VK Yadav, the Vande Bharat train from Delhi to Katra will help capitalise on the high volume of traffic on the route. “For Mata Vaishno Devi devotees, the new Vande Bharat Express means a faster and more convenient mode of transport,” the chairman said. They were all set to roll out the same during the Navratri-Durga puja festival. The express was designed and built by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai under the Indian government’s Make in India initiative over a span of 18 months. With inputs from PTI.