NEW DELHI: The non-availability of flights to their respective cities forced many tourists to opt for the train route in their mad rush to exit Jammu & Kashmir at the earliest following the terror attack at Pahalgam. In just two days, nearly 4,000 tourists chugged out of the state.
Chief Public Relations Officer, Northern Railway, Himanshu S Upadhyay told TNIE, “Apart from operating two special trains, Northern Railway attached additional bogies to regular trains to accommodate them. We also opened food stalls 24x7 at railway stations in Kashmir to facilitate a smooth route out for the tourists.”
Passengers managed to reach Shri Vaishnavo Devi Katra or Jammu railway stations by buses and taxis. “We operated two specials from Katra via Jammu to New Delhi. Each of these trains carried at least 1,500 passengers,” he said, adding, "The first special train (Train no. 04612) was operated on April 23 while the second special train (Train no. 04625) was operated on April 24." The trains had stoppages at Udhampur, Jammu, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Ambala, Kurukshetra and Panipat.
In addition to that, extra bogies were attached to a few regular trains that left the state including Shalimar Malani (Train no. 14662) and Kolkata Express (Train no. 13152). “We also gave priority to the tourists and accommodated them on trains on which people did not board at the last minute,” Upadhyay said. The rush had eased by Friday and hence there was no need for any special train to be operated on April 25, he added.
Food stalls were opened 24x7 at the stations. A 'mini war room' managed by railway staff was set up at Jammu to co-ordinate between all the departments and to handle the situation efficiently, the CPRO said. Help desks were opened at all the stations in J&K to offer any required support to the visitors.