JAMMU: Shuttle services of four trains operating between Jammu and Katra—the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine—were suspended on Wednesday due to heavy rain and flooding.
Train services from New Delhi to Katra have also been short-terminated in view of the adverse weather.
The shuttle services, which began on September 1 and were scheduled to run until September 15, were aimed at assisting daily commuters and stranded passengers. “The shuttle services between Jammu and Katra have been cancelled today due to heavy rainfall and flooding of the track,” a railway official said.
Rail traffic in the Jammu division has remained suspended for the past nine days following misalignment and breaches caused by flash floods and heavy rains on August 26 along the Pathankot-Jammu section.
Despite this, special trains have been operated to transport stranded passengers. Over the past four days, seven special trains have carried a total of 5,784 passengers to their destinations.
The region has witnessed severe disruption of both rail and road traffic since August 26 due to incessant rainfall, leaving many pilgrims stranded. A landslide near the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra on August 26 claimed 34 lives, and the pilgrimage remained suspended for the ninth consecutive day on Wednesday.
Jammu recorded its heaviest rainfall since 1910 last Wednesday, receiving 380 mm of rain.
