2 min readJammuUpdated: Oct 18, 2026 12:45 PM ISTDevotees en route to Vaishno Devi Dham during the Navratri festival, at Katra in Reasi, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (PTI Photo) (PTI Photo)Keeping in mind the interest of lakhs of pilgrims visiting the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district, the Indian Railways has started a direct train between Gujarat and Katra town in Jammu region.The Train (No. 19223) departed from Sabarmati in Gujarat at 10.27 am on Sunday and will reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 6.55 pm on Monday. From Katra side, the daily rail service will begin from October 20 (Tuesday) with train No. 19224 departing at 4.50 am and arriving at Sabarmati at 2.05 pm the next day.Katra town acts as the base camp for pilgrims moving to and coming from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in the Trikuta Hills, a railway spokesperson in Jammu said.Until now, the daily rail service — Sabarmati BG-Jammu Tawi Express — used to terminate at Jammu Tawi Railway Station.With this direct train service, lakhs of pilgrims coming from not just Gujarat but also Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab will get the facility to reach Katra town directly, without any transhipment at Jammu.This train, which will complete its journey between Katra and Sabarmati in nearly 33 hours, will have additional halts at Samba, Bari Brahmana and Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan railway station in Udhampur, providing long distance rail facility to local people, including students, traders and military personnel in these areas.“It will be especially beneficial for the people connected with the industrial township of Bari Brahmana,” the spokesperson said.Story continues below this adIn terms of tourism and economy, the daily train service will connect Katra via Sabarmati, Bathinda, Firozpur, Jalandhar and Pathankot, which will boost religious tourism as well as trade and employment, he added.Nearly 1 crore pilgrims from across the country visit Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine every year and a sizeable number of them come from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.