JNM Journalist Hardeep Jamwal, Jammu
Relief has arrived for devotees traveling to seek the blessings of Mata Vaishno Devi. The Railway Administration has decided to operate the previously cancelled New Delhi–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Special Train (No. 04081/04082) on a diverted route. This train will commence operations on the alternative route starting May 29, 2026, providing significant relief to thousands of passengers.
According to information released by the Jammu Division of Northern Railway, this decision was taken with the objective of ensuring passenger convenience and maintaining smooth travel operations. However, as the train will now run on a new route instead of its original one, it will no longer make scheduled stops at certain stations.
According to railway officials, Train No. 04081 will depart from New Delhi on May 29, June 1, and June 3, 2026. This train will now reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra via the New Delhi–Ghaziabad–Saharanpur–Ambala Cantt route. Due to this route diversion, the train will not halt at Panipat and Kurukshetra stations.
Conversely, in the return direction, Train No. 04082 will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra on May 30, June 2, and June 4, 2026. On its return journey, the train will reach New Delhi via Ambala Cantt, Saharanpur, and Ghaziabad. During this leg of the journey as well, the train will not stop at Panipat and Kurukshetra stations.
Uchit Singhal, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Jammu), stated that the Railways’ primary priority is the convenience of its passengers. He explained that completely cancelling the train would have caused significant inconvenience to a large number of devotees and travelers; therefore, the decision was made to operate it on an alternative route instead.
The Railway Administration has appealed to passengers to ensure they verify the revised route and timetable details prior to their journey to avoid facing any inconvenience during their travel.
