Government of India
Ministry of Railways
04-September-2015 17:55 IST
Shri Suresh Prabhu Flags Off Andaman Express Through Remote Control From Jammu Tawi to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar...
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Prabhu, flagged off 16031 Chennai Central Jammu Tawi Andaman Express Train from Jammu Tawi to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK). This is the extension of the existing train from Jammu Tawi to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra(SVDK). The flagging off was done through remote control by organising a video conferencing by Rail Bhawan(New Delhi) and Jammu Tawi Railway Station. The other Dignitaries present at the function at New Delhi end included Dr. Jitender Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Development of North Eastern Region, and MOS in Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Shri Manoj Sinha, Union Minister of State for Railways, Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Power Development and Housing & Urban Development, Govt. of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri A.K. Puthia General Manager, Northern Railway. At Jammu end, Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha Shri Shamsher Singh Manhas, Shri Sat Sharma, Member of Legislative Assembly, Jammu and Kashmir were among those present on the occasion.
In his address the Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said that it is necessary to provide good transportation facilities to the places of pilgrimage from every part of the country. Indian Railway is making sincere efforts in providing best connectivity to the places of pilgrimage. He said that Ministry of Railway is committed to the development of Railway infrastructure in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that a meeting of consultative committee attached with Ministry of Railway was organised at Srinagar recently. Shri Suresh Prabhu said that he will soon hold a meeting at Jammu to review the progress of various Railway Projects. Shri Suresh Prabhu reiterated that Hon’ble Prime Minister has always been emphasizing the need to give priority to the development activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
In his address, Dr. Jitender Singh said that it is heartening to see that Indian Railways is paying a lot of attention to the development of the Railway Infrastructure in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He complemented Indian Railways for meeting the demand of people of Katra for increased connectivity with rest of the Nation. He pointed out that Railway represents the culture of the country. He said that when the train services reached Katra, many people of the region saw a train for the first time in the life.
In his address Dr. Nirmal Singh appreciated the steps taken by Indian Railways to provide better connectivity to Katra from different parts of the country. He said that Hon’ble Prime Minister has been personally concerned about the Railway Projects in the Jammu and Kashmir. He praised the Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu for his dynamism and initiatives in improving the Railway services.
Shri A.K.Puthia in his welcome address outlined the progress of various Railway Projects being undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir.
Brief Backgrounder about trains services in Jammu and Kashmir and Katra :

· It has been planned to extend 13 pairs of train services originating from various parts of the country upto Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK)/Udhampur. Out of these, 05 pairs have already been extended upto SVDK w.e.f. 01.09.2015 and 02.09.2015.

· Extension of 16031/16032 Chennai-Jammu Tawi Andaman Express upto SVDK has been flagged off today on 04.09.2015 by Minister of Railways from Rail Bhawan,

· The schedule of this train is as follows:-



16031 Chennai-Jammu Tawi Andaman Express (Tri-weekly)
Station
16032 Jammu Tawi-Chennai Andaman Express (Tri-weekly)
Arrival
Departure
Arrival
Departure
--
05:15 (W, Th, Su)
Chennai
10:10 (Th, Su, M)
--
13:10
13:20
Jammu Tawi
23:35
23:45
15:20 (F, Sa, Tu)
--
SVDK
--
21:55 (Tu, F, Sa)
*Commercial stoppage at Udhampur

· In the Railway Budget 2014-15, introduction of 07 pair of Mail/Express trains, 03 pair of Premium trains and 02 pair of DEMU trains have been announced out of which 09 pair of train services have already been introduced. Remaining 03 pair of train services will be introduced as and when Rolling stocks are available.

· List of the trains announced in the Railway Budget 2014-15 which would serve the State of Jammu & Kashmir and status of implementation are as under:-

S. No.
Train no
From
To
Frequency
Type
Status
1.
19805/19806
Kota
Udhampur
Weekly
Express
Introduced w.e.f. 12.11.2014
2.
14713/14714
Sriganganagar
Jammu Tawi
Weekly
Express
Introduced w.e.f. 24.09.2014
3.
22941/22942
Indore
Jammu Tawi
Weekly
Express
Introduced w.e.f. 29.12.2014
4.
14155/14156
Kanpur
Jammu Tawi
Bi-weekly
Express
Introduced w.e.f. 09.06.2015
5.
22461/22462
New Delhi
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Daily
Superfast
Introduced w.e.f. 14.07.2014
6.
22679/22680
Yashwantpur
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Weekly
Premium
Introduced w.e.f. 29.01.2015
7.
19415/19416
Ahmadabad
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Weekly
Express
Introduced w.e.f. 25.01.2015
8.
74615/74616
Baramula
Banihal
6 days a week
DEMU
Introduced w.e.f. 09.07.2015
9.
74613/74614
Baramula
Budgam
6 days a week
DEMU
10.
15655/15656
Kamyakhya
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Weekly
Express
Will be introduced as and when Rolling stocks are available
11.
22923/22934
Bandra
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Weekly*
Premium
12.
22313/22314
Sealdah
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Weekly*
Premium

· The 04 pairs of train services which were running as special trains on Baramulla-Banihal, Baramulla-Badgam and Badgam-Banihal section has been made run as regular service. Now, Baramulla-Budgam-Banihal section is presently being served by 13 pairs of train services (Baramulla-Banihal section is being served by 04 pairs of train services, Baramulla-Badgam section is presently being served by 07 pairs of train services and Badgam-Banihal section is being served by 10 pairs of train services).

· Apart from this, 24 pair of mail/express trains serving the state of Jammu & Kashmir have been permanently augmented by utilising 24 coaches during 2015-16.

· Presently, Jammu Tawi station is being served by 51 pairs of train services while Udhampur station is being served by 13 pairs of train services.

· Besides, to clear extra rush of passengers during summer, festive seasons or in connection with various religious congregations, special trains are made run serving the state of Jammu & Kashmir from various destinations as per the volume of traffic as and when required.

The list of 13 pairs of trains planned for extension upto SVDK/Udhampur and their status is as under:-
Sl.No.
Train No. and Name
Approved for extention upto
Status
1.
16031/16032 Chennai-Jammu Tawi Andaman Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Will extend from 04.09.2015
2.
12477/12478 Jamnagar-Jammu Tawi Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
01.09.2015 from Jamnagar
06.09.2015 from SVDK
3.
11449/11450 Jabalpur-Jammu Tawi Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
01.09.2015 from Jabalpur
02.09.2015 from SVDK
4.
12445/12446 New Delhi-Udhampur Uttar Samark Kranti Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
01.09.2015 from New Delhi
02.09.2015 from SVDK
5.
14033/14034 Delhi Udhampur Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
01.09.2015 from New Delhi
02.09.2015 from SVDK
6.
14155/14156 Kanpur-Jammu Tawi Express
Udhampur
01.09.2015 from Kanpur
02.09.2015 from SVDK
7.
12471/12472 Bandra (T)-Jammu Tawi Swaraj Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
03.09.2015 from Bandra T
01.09.2015 from SVDK
8.
12473/12474 Ahmedabad-Jammu Tawi Sarvodaya Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
05.09.2015 from Ahmedabad
03.09.2015 from SVDK
9.
12475/12476 Hapa-Jammu Tawi Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
02.09.2015 from Hapa
07.09.2015 from SVDK
10.
14609/14610 Rishikesh-Jammu Tawi Hemkunth Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
09.09.2015 from Rishikesh and 10.09.2015 from SVDK

11.
16317/16318 Kanyakumari-Jammu Tawi Himsagar Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
04.09.2015 from Kanyakumari 07.09.2015 from SVDK
12.
16687/16688 Mangalore Central-Jammu Tawi Navyug Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
31.08.2015 from Manglore Central From SVDK-03.09.2015
13.
19803/19804 Kota-Jammu Tawi Express
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
05.09.2015 from Kota
06.09.2015 from SVDK