Meeting the long-pending demand of pilgrims travelling to the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today flagged of a bi-weekly train from Kalka to Katra.
From Kalka in Haryana, the Kalka-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra the inaugural run of the train started at 1.40 PM and from Katra it will return tomorrow at 9.30 PM.
Prabhu flagged off the train through a remote control from Bhuntar airport in Himachal Pradesh, an official spokesman said here.
At Kalka, BJP MP from Ambala Ratan Lal Kataria, Kalka and Panchkula MLAs Latika Sharma and Gianchand Gupta were present.
The train, which had been announced by the previous Congress regimes over two years ago, would have 16 coaches. The train will have AC2, AC3, sleeper and general second class accommodation.
Regular run of the train will start from June 2 from Kalka and June 3 from Katra.
The train will depart from Kalka at 7 PM on every Tuesday and Friday to arrive at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra station at 4.45 AM the next day.
From Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Station the train will depart at 9.30 PM on every Wednesday and Saturday to arrive at Kalka at 7.50 AM the next day, he said, adding the train will travel to Katra en route Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Jammu and Udhampur.
