The Northern Railway will run a one-way special train between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and New Delhi on Wednesday night to evacuate tourists from Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the terrorist attack in South Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
At least 26 people were killed and 10 others sustained injuries as terrorists opened fire at tourists on Tuesday in Baisaran, a popular destination.
Help desks have also been opened at Jammu Tawi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra station to provide assistance to the passengers. The Northern Railway has also opened a helpline: 0191-2470116.
“To provide additional facilities to tourists and passengers returning from Jammu and Kashmir, special train will be run by Northern Railway. The first train will leave from Katra station at 9.20 pm tonight. This train will be available at Jammu station at 11 pm and will reach New Delhi station around 9 am. We have rakes available. If needed, more trains will be operated,” said Himanshu Upadhyay, chief public relations officer (CPRO), Northern Railway.
The special train has seven general coaches, eight sleeper coaches, two third AC coaches, 1 third AC economy coach, and two luggage-cum-brake vans. Apart from Katra and Jammu, it has stops at Pathankot, Jalandhar, Dhandari Kalan, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panipat and New Delhi.
The victims of Tuesday’s attack included a railway employee. Atun Mone, a senior section engineer with the Parel workshop of Central Railway, was holidaying with his wife and daughter when the terrorists opened fire.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, has claimed responsibility for the attack, sources with central agencies indicated.
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