JAMMU-KATRA RAILWAY LINE

Indian railways, a gift from the British Imperial rulers, which gave the country its freedom, indirectly, is an ever changing entity in the nation. New railway lines connecting remote places of the country are a common phenomenon within the Indian Railway sector. But the newest railway line that created a sensation all over the nation is the Jammu – Katra line.

                         Katra or Katra Vaishno Devi, is a small town in Reasi district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (42 km from the city of Jammu) situated in the foothills of the Trikuta Mountains, where the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi is located. Katra railway station belongs to Firozpur Division Northern Railway zone in Jammu and Kashmir and serves Katra town and the Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple. Jammu Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link connects the Katra railway station of Northern Railways to the rest of Indian railways network. It had been inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4, 2014.

                    The Ground Floor of Katra railway station has escalaors, lifts, current reservation, second class booking, train enquiry section, pilgrim guide, tourist assistance, VIP lounge, a fully air-conditioned hotel with a shopping lounge, multi-cuisine restaurant, cloak room, waiting hall, a book stall, tea stall, toilet blocks, and catering area. The first floor accommodates 8 retiring rooms and a cafeteria. A huge parking place also constructed to accommodate cars and passenger buses. At present, the Railways run three Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) trains daily from Jammu to Katra with first at 7.45 AM followed by another at 12.10 PM and the third one at 17.20 PM, offering the Vaishno Devi pilgrims easy facility to take up onward journey to the Katra Base camp. This service has made trip to Vaishno Devi shrine much simpler and cost effective in nature and the tourists travelling there are much inclined to take the tracks than hitting the road.

                        However, direct train service to Katra from Jammu has adversely affected the tourism trade in Jammu city with State Road Transport alone recording 65 per cent slump in its revenue earnings in just a week. According to industry stakeholders the Vaishno Devi pilgrims coming from different parts of the country, who constituted more than 80 per cent of the total daily traffic from Jammu to Katra now prefer train to bus or taxi to go to Vaishno Devi shrine. For the journey from Jammu to Katra the Railways charge a fare of Rs.20, while the private and government run State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses charge a fare ranging between Rs.86 to Rs.54 depending upon the seating facilities. This cost factor further adds to the drop in tourist flow in State Road Transport of Jammu. Before the rail service, on an average the SRTC buses that  run from Jammu Railway station to Katra on daily basis used to earn Rs.50,000 to 55,000, which has come down  to a record low of Rs.20,000.

                      Thus the direct train to Katra has liberated the tourists from their hassles and on the other hand killed the tourism in Jammu making life of localities who relied on tourism industry difficult. Earlier the taxi operators would convince the pilgrims to include a brief sightseeing of Jammu into their trip and took them to various spots including Bagh-e –Bahu, Mansar Lake, Suchetgarh Border and adjoining areas. But with the starting of the railway service tourists plan their trip direct to Katra escaping Jammu. Thus, the tourism base is drying up in Jammu.