Tourist Rush on Vande Bharat: Top Choice for Kashmir Travel, Tourists Flock from Vaishno Devi to Srinagar

Srinagar (The Uttam Hindu): Vande Bharat Express, which provides direct rail connectivity to Kashmir Valley from the country's capital Delhi and the rest of India, is now becoming the "lifeline" of Kashmir. This historic rail service from Srinagar to Delhi was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 6, and its regular operation started from the very next day i.e. June 7.

Vande Bharat became the first choice to go to Kashmir, tourists are reaching Srinagar directly from Vaishno Devi; seats are full for 10 days : According to railway officials, more than 15 thousand passengers have availed this facility in the last seven days. All the seats in this train with a capacity of 550 seats are fully booked for the next 10 days. Keeping in mind the convenience of passengers, time saving and comfortable journey, people are preferring to travel by train instead of Jammu-Srinagar Highway.

Railway official Sikandar Ahmed said that among the passengers who have travelled so far, there were about three thousand tourists, most of whom had come to Katra to visit Mata Vaishno Devi. He said that no complaint of any kind has been received from the passengers and the rail service is running on time and safely.

After the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the tourism industry in Kashmir suffered a huge loss. Hotel bookings saw a decline of up to 90 percent, while air travel bookings also fell by about 45 percent. Amidst this crisis, the Vande Bharat train and the Prime Minister's visit to Kashmir have brought a positive message.

This service has now emerged as a symbol of security and stability in Kashmir, due to which the confidence of tourists has started returning again. Local businessmen and the tourism industry hope that this rail service will play an important role in strengthening the economy of the valley.