Jammu, May 29 :Expecting a huge rush of pilgrims in view of summer holidays across the country, the Northern Railways will be running three special trains from New Delhi to Katra from June 2 to July 30.

“Three summer special trains from New Delhi to Jammu to Katra will start operating from June 2 to cater to the rush of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrims,” official sources said.

They said that the special train from New Delhi to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra will start on June 2 and it will leave New Delhi Station every Friday at 11:15 PM and reach Katra next day at 11:25 am.

From Katra, they said that the train will leave every Saturday at 6:30 pm.

The special train with AC coaches will have stoppages at Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra Junction, Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Cantt, Pathankot Cantt, Jammu Tawi and Udhampur.

The New Delhi-Udhampur-New Delhi (04075/04076) special train will run from June 1 to July 30. It will leave New Delhi every Thursday at 11:15 PM and reach Udhampur at 10:55 am next day, sources said.

They further added that in return it will leave Udhampur every Friday at 7 pm and will have halts at Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra Junction, Ambala, Cantt, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Cantt, Pathankot Cantt and Jammu Tawi stations.

Another weekly special train between New Delhi-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra will relieve the pilgrims as it will make four rounds from June 3 to July 25.

The train will leave New Delhi every Saturday at 11:15 PM and reach Katra next day at 11:25 am and leave Katra for New Delhi every Sunday at 6.30 pm having stoppages at Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra Junction, Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Cantt, Pathankot Cantt, Jammu Tawi and Udhampur.

“Likewise every year, we are expecting a heavy footfall of pilgrims to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Cave Shrine for which all arrangements are being reviewed time to time and put in place,” Anshul Garg, Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board here told UNI.

Garg said that presently on weekdays, 35,000 to 40,000 pilgrims are reaching daily at Katra and the figure exceeds on the weekends.

The CEO added that the Shrine Board is geared up with foolproof measures to ensure the best pilgrimage experience to the visiting devotees as the burgeoning of devotees is anticipated at the Holy Shrine over the next couple of months located in Trikuta Hills of Katra town in Reasi.

“Action is taken on diverse fronts for hassle free pilgrimage during coming days including issuance and verification of RFID cards, effective crowd management, augmentation of holding areas on the track and in Katra town, working out plans for decongestion of the entire track, particularly the Bhawan area, separation of entry, exit routes at Bhawan,” he said.

Garg also revealed that all time surveillance has to be done through a dedicated CCTV network of over 700 cameras.