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Updated: Oct 04, 2019 06:48 IST

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) will lead the country in terms of development over the next decade, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Thursday as he flagged off the inaugural Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi to Katra; the train will reduce the travel time between the two places from 12 hours to eight.

Shah said the second Vande Bharat Express was the fastest train yet to J&K and called it Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big gift for the region, and will bring development to the region and boost religious tourism. Katra is a town near the foothills of the Trikuta Mountains, where the Vaishno Devi shrine is located, around 40 km from Jammu.

Modi launched the first Vande Bharat Express, India’s locally built semi high-speed train that can reach speeds of 160 km per hour, on February 15, between New Delhi and Varanasi. The railways has set a target for 40 new Vande Bharat Express trains by 2022.

Shah said the Centre’s move in August to scrap the Constitutional provisions, which gave a measure of autonomy to J&K and prevented non-residents from buying property there, will help eliminate terrorism and the ideologies that have spawned it. “Every Indian was of the opinion that [Article] 370 and 35A need to go. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government did it. Article 370 was a roadblock to J&K’s development and its true integration with India... After its removal, the evil of terrorism would be completely eliminated from J&K.”

Shah also called Vande Bharat Express a big tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s vision as India celebrated his 150th birth anniversary on Wednesday. “It [the train] is a complete product of the Make in India project… The struggle for independence got momentum as he [Mahatma Gandhi] used railway journeys to send his message across. Just like [in case of] independence, the railways will be an important tool in achieving the $5 trillion economy goal of PM Modi [by 2024],” Shah said.

Railways minister Piyush Goyal, who also spoke at the inauguration, said the Centre plans to have railway connectivity between Kashmir and Kanyakumari, the country’s southernmost point, before August 2022.

A 111-km-long railway stretch between Katra and Banihal is under construction. It will connect Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country. Train services have been operational between Banihal and Baramulla in the Valley since 2013.

Goyal said that the railways has been working on enhancing speeds and has asked the home minister to help with enhancing the safety of trains. “We will also install CCTV [closed-circuit television] cameras across our entire network,” Goyal said.

Railway Protection Force chief Arun Kumar said they will also deploy special unit—Commando for Railway Security (CORAS) across sensitive stations along the Jammu-Pathankot line. CORAS commandos, a special unit of the RPF were first deployed along Maoist-hit areas of Chhattisgarh in August.

“While this is a good move and will improve connectivity and provide job opportunities in the Jammu region, it would be an overstatement to call it as a major step to reach out to the Kashmiris or provide development in the Kashmir region. I disagree with the logic that the current situation In Kashmir can be overcome by starting a few trains or even providing development,” said Happymon Jacob, a JNU academic and expert on Jammu & Kashmir

A railway ministry spokesperson separately said the area of Vande Bharat Express’s pantry has been increased and it will have wider access areas in vestibules. Anti-spall films have also been provided for the train’s window glasses to protect them from stones, the spokesperson added. The train also has Wi-Fi and an infotainment system. The first Vande Bharat Express faced technical and passenger comfort issues.

The Vande Bharat Express to Katra will officially begin operations from Saturday with a minimum fare of Rs 1,630 and a maximum of Rs 3,014. The train is scheduled to operate at a speed of 130 km per hour.