SRINAGAR: Northern Railway will operate two reserved Festival Special Express trains between New Delhi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to meet the expected surge in passenger traffic during the festive season, railway officials said.
Train No. 04083/04084 New Delhi–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra–New Delhi Reserved Festival Special Express will make two trips in each direction, providing additional services for passengers and devotees travelling to the shrine.
Train No. 04083 will leave New Delhi at 2pm on October 9 and October 16, 2026, both Fridays, and arrive at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 3am the following morning.
The return service, Train No. 04084, will depart from Katra at 10am on October 10 and October 17, both Saturdays, and reach New Delhi at 11.30pm on the same day.
The service will cover a distance of 655 kilometres and comprise 22 modern LHB coaches.
The train will stop at Sonipat, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala Cantt, Dhandari Kalan, Jalandhar Cantt, Pathankot Cantt, Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua, Jammu Tawi and Shaheed Captain Tushar Mahajan stations.
Meanwhile, another Festival Special service, Train No. 04081/04082, is already being operated and will continue until October 26.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Jammu, Uchit Singhal, said the additional services had been planned in view of the substantial rise in the number of devotees travelling to Mata Vaishno Devi during the festive period.
He said the special trains would help provide passengers with a smoother journey and confirmed seats.
Singhal advised travellers to plan their journeys in advance and book tickets through the IRCTC website or railway reservation counters.
The Jammu Division Railway Administration said it remained committed to improving passenger facilities and managing the additional travel demand during the festival season.
