How to go to Kashmir from Delhi by Train

Kashmir is a land of unimaginable beauty! It is a valley between the Great Himalayan range and Pir Panjal mountain range. Its simplicity and pristine beauty attracts a lot of attention from all over the world. Variety of terrains ranging from lakes, snow-capped mountains, coniferous hills and glacier fed rivers enhance the beauty of Kashmir. It is covered with wild untouched terrain and also fields of saffron and orchards apples. Once you land at this land of beauty, a sense of peace and calmness will engulf you. Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Leh, Kupwara, Kathua, Kargil, Pulwama, Pahalgam, Kishtwar, Doda, Poonch, Anantnag are a few places worth visiting if you are planning a trip to Kashmir.

If you and your friends are planning a trip to this beautiful place, and you don’t know which means of transportation will be most feasible, here I am to solve your dilemma. Besides flights, trains are one of the best means to reach Kashmir from Delhi. Train tickets and PNR are easily available on the IRCTC website. Although Kashmir does not have a railway station, the nearest station is Jammu Tawi which is at a distance of 263 kilometres from Kashmir. The distance between New Delhi to Kashmir is 677 kms and it takes approximately 23 to 24 hours to reach destination if you take a train. There are 27 Long distance trains running between the two stations. There is 1 Rajdhani train, 13 Mail/Express trains, 2 AC Superfast trains, 1 Sampark Kranti train, 1 Duronto train, 8 Superfast trains, 1 Humsafar train running from New Delhi to Jammu Tawi station. It can take you from 9 hours upto 24 hours to reach destination station, depending upon the train and departure station you choose.

Trains that take the shortest duration to reach Jammu Tawi are 12475/Hapa Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express, 12477/ Jamnagar Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express, 12473/ Sarvodaya Express, 12471/ Swaraj Express, and a few others. They take about 9 to 10 hours to reach destinations. These trains have around 5 to 6 halts in between.

Other trains that run between New Delhi to Jammu Tawi are 12919 Malwa SF Express, 18215 Durg Jammu Tawi Express via Amritsar, 12549 Durg Jammu Tawi Weekly SF Express, 22705 Tirupati Jammu Tawi Humsafar Express, 22941 Indore Jammu Tawi Weekly SF Express,14645 Shalimar Express, 22461 Shri Shakti AC Express, 14033 Jammu Mail, 12425 New Delhi- Jammu Tawi Rajdhani Express,12445 Uttar Sampark Kranti Express, 11077 Jhelum Express, 18101 Tatanagar- Jammu Tawi Link Express, 18309 Sambalpur- Jammu Tawi Express, 12265 Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Jammu Tawi Duronto Express, 22401 Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Udhampur AC Express, 12413 Pooja SF Express, 19805 Kota Udhampur Weekly Express,16031 Andaman Express, 16317 Himsagar Express, 11449 Jabalpur Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express,16687 Navyug Express, 16787 Tirunelveli Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express. The boarding stations for these trains are one among NDLS/New Delhi station, DSJ/Delhi Safdarjung station, DLI/Old Delhi Junction and DEE/Delhi Sarai Rohilla Station.

If you are looking to save some money and have fun during the journey, I say take trains. The journey will be worth the wait to reach destination.