New Delhi: In what can be termed as a gift to the devotees for Navratra, the Vande Bharat Express running from Delhi-Katra, was  flagged off by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the New Delhi Railway Station today.

The train will bring down the travel time between Delhi and Katra, the last station on the way to Vaishno Devi temple, to eight hours from the current 12 hours.

"I'm proud that this 'Made in India' train is being flagged-off from here today. The railways is working towards achieving its targets keeping in mind principles of speed, scale and service," Shah said at the event.

Shah said Article 370 was a roadblock in the development of Jammu and Kashmir and that the journey of development in the region would begin with the launch of Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express.

Shah was accompanied by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Union ministers Jitendra Singh and Harsh Vardhan, flagged off the train from New Delhi Railway Station.

Last month, Indian Railways Board chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav said that the Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat train trials have been finished.

"It will be a gift to the pilgrims and it will begin plying from Navratras. We are trying to upgrade our busy routes. Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah will be ready by December 2021," Yadav said.

"40 Vande Bharat trains will come out by 2022. New specifications are being worked on. There would be transparency, it will be a 'Make in India' project," Yadav further said.

Just like the previous version which runs between Delhi and Varanasi, the railways has not applied the dynamic fare principle on the new Vande Bharat train for Delhi-Katra.

The minimum fare for travelling between New Delhi (NDLS) to Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) will be Rs 1,630 and the maximum will be Rs 3,015.

The train will run on all days of the week except Tuesdays.

Train number 22439 New Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express will depart from the New Delhi railway station at 6 am to reach Katra at 2 pm.

En route, the train will halt at Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana and Jammu Tawi for two minutes each.

On the return journey the same day, train number 22440 Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express will leave from the Katra railway station at 3 pm to reach the New Delhi railway station at 11 pm.

The luxury all air-conditioned chair car service with 16 coaches is an engine-less self-propelled trainset which allows for faster acceleration and deceleration, therefore reducing travel time by 40 per cent.

The new train has a bigger pantry compared to the first Train 18 or Vande Bharat Express.

It also has windows with a special provision to protect against stone-pelting and a cattle guard in the front to prevent damage to the train or derailment in case of cattle run.

(inputs from agencies)