Vande Bharat to Srinagar: timings, fares and how to book

Timetable

Times as reported by ETV Bharat on 29 April 2026 and News On Air on 30 April 2026, which differ on 26402’s arrival. Check the current times on IRCTC or the railways’ NTES service before you travel.

Stops: News On Air named Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Reasi and Banihal. A later Kashmir Life report in August 2026 also lists Udhampur, so check the stops on your ticket.

Fares

Jammu Tawi to Srinagar, as reported by News Arena on 21 August 2026. We couldn’t read the fares on IRCTC without an account, so treat them as a guide. When the trains started from Katra in June 2025, PTI reported fares of ₹715 for the chair car and ₹1,320 for executive class.

How to book

Book “online at irctc.co.in or through the IRCTC Rail Connect app”, says the Srinagar district administration, which adds that seats fill quickly, “especially during summer season”. In the first ten days of the Jammu service, 44,727 passengers travelled, and occupancy reached 98.21% on Sunday 10 May, ETV Bharat reported.

A short history

1. 6 Jun 2025
   The Prime Minister opened the Chenab bridge, The Week reported, and flagged off the first Vande Bharat to Kashmir from Katra.
2. 7 Jun 2025
   Commercial service began between Katra and Srinagar, PTI reported.
3. 30 Apr 2026
   Services were extended to Jammu Tawi, with 20 coaches a train, News On Air reported.
4. 2 May 2026
   Regular services from Jammu Tawi began, ETV Bharat reported.
5. 18 Aug 2026
   The Railway Ministry approved a third Jammu–Srinagar Vande Bharat, 26407/26408, stopping at Udhampur, Swarajya reported. We found no report of it starting by 23 October 2026.

The line and its bridges

From Udhampur the train runs on the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link, which a Press Information Bureau backgrounder of 4 June 2025 describes as 272 km long, with 36 tunnels covering 119 km and 943 bridges, built at a cost of ₹43,780 crore.

• The Chenab bridge stands “359 metres above the riverbed” and spans 1,315 metres, making it “the world’s highest railway arch bridge”, according to the PIB backgrounder.
• The Anji Khad bridge is India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, 331 m above the riverbed.
• Tunnel T-50, between Khari and Sumber, is 12.77 km long, the longest transport tunnel in the country, per PIB.

In winter

The Kashmir Vande Bharat was built for the cold: it “runs smoothly even in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius”, with heated windshields, and a snow-clearing train runs ahead on the line, the PIB backgrounder says. When bad weather shut the roads and flights in February 2026, the railways scheduled four special services between Katra and Srinagar for stranded travellers, News On Air reported.

Other trains

A slower train, 14688/14687, links Badgam (Budgam), near Srinagar, with Katra:

• Timetable: Northern Railway announced a regular run of its 04688/04687 Badgam–Katra special, an “AC Chair Car train”, from 19 October 2026, six days a week except Sundays, News On Air reported on 2 September 2026, as republished by First Despatch. The railways’ NTES enquiry system lists it as 14687 “SVDK BDGM EXP”, valid from 19 October 2026 and running Monday to Saturday, and showed 14688 reaching Katra on 24 October 2026. 14688 leaves Badgam at 07:20 and reaches Katra at 13:00; 14687 leaves Katra at 13:45 and reaches Badgam at 20:00. Check NTES before you travel.
• Stops include Srinagar, Anantnag, Qazigund, Banihal, Sangaldan and Reasi.
• Background: it first ran to Katra from 11 February 2026, ETV Bharat reported, and direct running resumed on 29 August 2026 after a summer break, according to Kashmir Observer.

Local trains have also run between Sangaldan and Baramulla since February 2024.

Srinagar railway station

Srinagar railway station is open: it is where the Vande Bharat trains from Jammu Tawi end. Its code is SINA, as News On Air gave it in February 2026. The station is “in the Nowgam area on the city outskirts”, Greater Kashmir reported in January 2025, and ANI called it “Nowgam Railway Station in Srinagar” when the first train from Jammu arrived on 30 April 2026.

Trains that call there:

• Vande Bharat: 26401 and 26403 arrive from Jammu Tawi at 11:10 and 18:00, and 26404 and 26402 leave for Jammu Tawi at 08:00 and 14:00. Each skips one day a week; see the timetable above.
• 14688/14687, the Badgam–Katra train, halts at Srinagar, according to News On Air and NTES.

Snow can still stop trains in the valley: on 25 January 2026 two Baramulla–Banihal trains were short-terminated at Budgam, Kashmir Life reported. Check NTES on the day you travel. If Srinagar is your base, the Go Kashmir app can build a 3, 5, 7 or 12-day trip plan from there.

Vande Bharat questions