Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to flag off nine Vande Bharat trains, including two services on the South Central Railways (SCR) on Sunday, an official statement said on Friday. According to the statement, PM Modi will inaugurate Vande Bharat train service between Kacheguda-Yesvantpur and Vijayawada–MGR Chennai Central routes via video conferencing. The Union Railway Minister will also participate in the inauguration program, the statement added. As per the official statement, the Vande Bharat train service between the Kacheguda-Yesvantpur will be the fastest train between the two cities with the least journey time, when compared with other trains in this route. It has a seating capacity of 530 passengers.
The train on the Vijayawada – MGR Chennai Central route will be the first and fastest train on this route. The train has a seating capacity of 530 passengers, the statement added. In addition, West Bengal will also get two more Vande Bharat train services between the Patna-Howrah and Ranchi-Howrah routes and the twin cities of Howrah-Kolkata.
PM Modi is all set to flag off the trains in West Bengal on Sunday in a virtual mode.
The Railways have already begun preparations for the semi-high-speed train operations on the Patna-Howrah route with the strengthening of tracks on the Patna-Jhajha-Asansol- Burdwan -Howrah main line.
According to the officials, the new rakes for the Patna-Howrah and Ranchi-Howrah routes will have 25 added features, the train will cover a distance of 535 km in approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes, making it the fastest direct rail connection between Patna and Kolkata.
The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off on February 15, 2019, by the Prime Minister, running between New Delhi and Varanasi. Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the train set symbolizes the ‘Make-In-India’ initiative and showcases India’s engineering prowess.
The project to manufacture indigenous semi-high-speed train sets began in mid-2017, and within 18 months, the ICF Chennai completed Train-18. India’s first semi-high-speed train was renamed Vande Bharat Express in January 2019 to emphasize its made-in-India status. The train achieved a maximum speed of 180 kmph on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section.
