Overview
- The Ministry of Railways, which announced the change on Friday, raised the maximum permissible speed on the 111‑km Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra–Banihal section from 75 km/h to 100 km/h.
- A specially configured Vande Bharat Express ran the route at 100 km/h during trials and crossed both the Chenab and Anji bridges at that speed to validate the upgrade.
- The train used for testing includes winterisation and safety adaptations such as heated windshields, strengthened heating, insulated toilets, and seismic dampers to suit Himalayan conditions.
- Railway officials say the higher limit will reduce travel time between Katra and Banihal, make operations smoother on the USBRL corridor, and improve comfort and reliability for passengers.
- The Katra–Banihal stretch is part of the larger Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link, a complex project that features the 359‑metre‑high Chenab arch bridge and the Anji cable‑stayed bridge and was inaugurated in June 2025.