On Monday evening when Shri Shakti Express chugged in at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station, Anuradha and Chander Kant, hailing from Pune, felt elated. They were eagerly waiting to embark on the last leg of their two-week-long trip to Jammu & Kashmir.
“In the last ten days we have been walking for long distances and are totally exhausted. We first visited the Amarnath cave shrine and now we are boarding the train after performing darshan at the Mata Vaishno Devi cave shrine,” Anuradha told The Pioneer while adjusting her luggage in the B4 Coach of Shri Shakti Express.
Anuradha said the introduction of the train was a huge relief for all the pilgrims, especially senior citizens and professionals. Chander Kant, who looks after his business in Pune said: “This is our first visit to the State and I thank Indian Railways for providing direct connectivity to Katra to lakhs of pilgrims who can now perform darshan without any worries about the return journey”.
He said they came to know about the schedule of the Shri Shakti Express on Sunday and decided to book tickets in advance. “I was lucky enough to get the tickets. Several other pilgrims could not book tickets in advance and were cursing their fate.” like Anuradha and Chander Kant, several hundred pilgrims boarded Shri Shakti Express amid loud chants of “Jai Mata Di” from Katra Railway Station on Monday evening. En route, the pilgrims sang bhajans in small groups and clicked pictures on board the train.
The mood among the pilgrims was upbeat and large groups of them checked out the modern railway station before boarding the train. They went around the station appreciating the facilities provided by Indian Railways to suit the needs of the pilgrims. Equipped with all modern passenger amenities the pilgrims can spend their time and relax in the IRCTC-run guest house at the railway station and even enjoy quick bites at the canteen and do some shopping in the souvenir shop. The railway station is also equipped with an escalator and an elevator to make things easier for the elderly and tired pilgrims.
Many of the excited pilgrims proudly got their pictures clicked near the foundation stone of the ambitious rail project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the Katra rail link on July 4 and had promised to provide direct train connectivity to Katra and other tourist/pilgrim destinations. Mahendra and Surinder Singh, working with a Delhi-based private company Hennell Fine Collections, said that with the start of a direct train service to Katra, people, especially the working class, can save both time and money. In the same compartment two working professionals from Rajasthan were relaxing after a day-long trek.
Rajesh Khandelwal said this was his first visit to Vaishno Devi. “I am happy as I am travelling on the first train from Katra to Delhi.” The majority of pilgrims said they were awed by the marvel created by the engineers of Indian Railways but were sad that they would not be able to enjoy the scenic beauty on the route due to the night-long journey from Katra to Delhi.
In the coming weeks the Railway authorities are going to link Katra with more centres across India. Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda had announced the launch of train services between Kalka-Chandigarh-Katra, Varanasi-Katra, Ahmedabad-Katra, Mumbai-Katra and Bangalore-Katra to make it easier for pilgrims across the country to visit the shrines they hold sacred.