Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first train from Katra to the Kashmir on April 19 fulfilling the over 70-year-old dream of rail connectivity to Valley, media reports said on Thursday.
The train will chug off from Katra town in Reasi district and will cross the Pir Panjal mountain range to reach Srinagar and then its final destination at Baramulla in north Kashmir.
PM Modi will flag off the train from Katra in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, reported news agency IANS.
The train to Kashmir will give a boost to tourism, horticulture, agriculture, industries, education and to the average Kashmiri, who can now forget his fears about the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway getting closed due to rain and snowfall.
The train will provide an uninterrupted all-weather connectivity and the carriage of goods to and from the Valley will become much cheaper in the coming days.
