# Sabarmati-Jammu Tawi Express extended to Katra from Oct 18 2026-10-17T19:37:19+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Ministry of Railways has approved the extension of the Sabarmati BG-Jammu Tawi Express to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, with the extended service starting from Sabarmati on 18 October and from Katra on 20 October, an official said on 17 October. The daily service will give pilgrims an additional travel option to Katra, the base camp for the Vaishno Devi shrine, from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. Three new halts have been approved at Samba, Bari Brahmana and Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan stations in Jammu. The Northern Railway spokesperson said the stoppages will benefit local residents, students, traders, industrial workers and military personnel, especially those near the Bari Brahmana industrial area. Train 19223 will depart Sabarmati at 10:25 am, reach Jammu Tawi at 3:35 pm on the second day and arrive at Katra at 6:55 pm. Return train 19224 will leave Katra at 4:50 am and reach Jammu Tawi at 7:40 am. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The extension connects two major pilgrimage hubs, Sabarmati in Gujarat and Katra in Jammu, on a single daily train, cutting the need for a change at Jammu Tawi. The three new halts serve the Bari Brahmana industrial belt, a key employment zone, and the station named after a fallen soldier. What remains unresolved is whether the additional service will ease the perennial rush on existing Katra trains, especially during the peak yatra season. The railway will measure demand against the timetable it has set for the inaugural runs on 18 and 20 October. ## Coverage - greaterkashmir.com Straight news agency style report, no editorialising This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Jammu Tawi, Katra, Ministry of Railways, Northern Railway, Sabarmati Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sabarmati-jammu-tawi-express-extended-to-katra-from-oct-18/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sabarmati-jammu-tawi-express-extended-to-katra-from-oct-18/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/