“The historic Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus service shall be flagged off from interstate bus stand in Srinagar for Dharamshala at 10 AM on Sunday by Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Mansoor Ahmad Mir,” Transport Minister of Himachal G S Bali said today.
“Called the Friendship Express, the service will be connecting the two popular hill stations in India. This service will prove to be a boon for the tourists, particularly foreign tourists visiting both the states,” he said.
The bus service will operate from Dharamsala at about 10.30 PM and halt at Pathankot (1.30 AM )and Jammu (5.30 AM ) on its way to Srinagar.
“From Srinagar the bus will start at about 6.30 AM to reach Dharamshala around 10 PM. The fare of the journey will be Rs 1154,” HRTC divisional manager in Dharamshala Vijay Sapiah said.
“It is for the first time that any direct bus service will connect Himachal with Srinagar,” said Vijay.
Dharamshala to Srinagar route is spread over a distance of 714 km by road.
Bali also said HRTC was contemplating improving connectivity of Himachal Pradesh with other states to boost tourism.
The transport corporation was planning to start Volvo bus service from Manali to Lucknow and Amritsar and from Shimla to Jaipur and Dharamshala to Ludhiana via Chintpurni and volvo service connecting Manali and Jaipur.
“We are also planning bus service on the McLeodganj-Delhi-Mathura route. This would connect main tourist stations of the state with luxury bus service,” Bali said.
The minister also said HRTC was also contemplating linking the religious circuits of Kangra with UP and Uttarakhand through bus service.
PTI