Jammu

To facilitate the movement of pilgrims during the upcoming Somvati Amavasya, Northern Railway's Jammu Division will operate a special train service between Katra and Haridwar next week, officials said on Tuesday.

According to a railway spokesperson, the special train (No. 04606) will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 6:15 pm on June 14 and reach Haridwar at 6:30 am the following day.

For the return journey, Train No. 04605 will leave Haridwar at 5:20 pm on June 15 and arrive in Katra at 7:00 am the next day.

The service will be operated as a fully reserved special train, with only one round trip scheduled to cater to the anticipated rush of devotees during Somvati Amavasya.

The train will comprise 16 coaches, including Sleeper Class, General, AC 3-Tier and AC 2-Tier coaches.

En route, the train will halt at several major stations, including Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan, Jammu Tawi, Pathankot Cantt, Jalandhar Cantt, Ludhiana, Ambala Cantt, Saharanpur and Roorkee.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Jammu Division, Uchit Singhal, said the decision was taken in view of the substantial increase in the number of pilgrims visiting the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine during Somvati Amavasya.

"A huge increase in the number of devotees is witnessed on Somvati Amavasya for visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. This special train is being run with the objective of facilitating passengers and managing the extra rush," Singhal said.

He urged passengers planning to travel on the special service to make reservations at the earliest and ensure they travel only with valid tickets.

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Passengers can obtain information regarding ticket availability and reservation status by contacting Railway Helpline number 139, officials added.