Train to Kashmir

The much-anticipated Vande Bharat train will be introduced in January 2025. Able to negotiate the twists and turns of the Himalayan track at a speed of up to 90 Kmph, this ultra-modern train is set to further cut travel time between Srinagar and New Delhi to just 13 hours and could well change the way travelers come in or move out of the Valley. It is also being understood to lower the horrendous air fares that have.

Vande Bharat Express is a flagship semi-high-speed rail project and it should offer the world class experience to its traveller in India. Stages: Every night the train leaves New Delhi in the departure day evening and arrives Srinagar in the next day morning. It’s twice as long as any flight, 13 hours, but no comparison to the comfort and convenience. The train is furnished with heating systems that should help it withstand the freezing winter temperatures of Kashmir. It includes significant stops such as Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana, and Jammu Tawi.

The introduction of Vande Bharat train can certainly shake the New Delhi-Srinagar travel space: The premium airlines that have dominated travel route from New Delhi till Srinagar for longest of time might face a competition for the first time as the price of these tickets could range between `2,000-3,000. With these reliability plus comfort quotient trains at affordability, it is set to generate huge passenger traffic among those who earlier had to no option.

The introduction of Vande Bharat will do great favour to the economy of Kashmir, which greatly relies on tourism. The upgradation of the train is going to make travel really easier and cheaper and will result in greater influx of domestic tourists into the Valley. Kashmir is always highly sought after in terms of its natural beauty (landscapes), historical monuments and cultural wealth, but it has often kept budget tourists at bay due to a higher cost of travel.

Train fares would be so affordable, and that it would aid in more off-season tourist arrivals, especially from the air sector, wherein airfares for travel during such seasons could be prohibitively expensive and has prior led to cancellations in inbound tourists, asserted tourism experts. Expect much more; thus, local residents may always depend on a so-frequent inflow for lodgings, hospitality industries, cafés, and also handicraft market. “Low-cost travel simply means additional tourists visiting J&K. A lot, in fact, translates directly to better business,” said Bashir Ahmed, who owns a store at Srinagar Lal Chowk.

Ending Anti-competitive Practices

There has been widespread criticism that routes such as New Delhi-Srinagar already have followed monetarist price practices in the name of fare. Such is the seasonality here. Peak times, it gets into ridiculous figures. On that, passengers barely have a choice. But the Vande Bharat Express will be an aberration and would skew this monopoly.

Although airlines will never completely lose their customer base — after all, they do cater to the fast — the train's existence introduces a much-needed price control over travel market. This shall in the long term, of course, call for equalized pricing and service amongst the passengers.

Vande Bharat train in Kashmir is not just an upgrade in travels, but the progress comes with it, a bridge of affordability and access where traveling is no more a luxury for a selected few.

In fact, this will allow the government to take advantage of their vision of a sustainable development with the modern features of the train. Actually, this makes it a very energy-efficient and environment-friendly, and thus a great model in the field of carrying the future.

Though the countdown towards the inauguration of the Vande Bharat begins across the Valley. For locals, it is long overdue as a way to solve high travel costs and limited options, a way to see Kashmir, and for the region as a whole, it offers the promise of greater connectivity and economic growth.

It will be definitely a new story for Kashmir in 2025.

Irfan Attari Kashmiri, Social Activist, President of Foundation For Youth Web & Student Of Cybersecurity