Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Rajasthan’s first Vande Bharat Express train via video conferencing on Wednesday, in another step towards semi-high-speed railway connectivity.
The inaugural Vande Bharat Express will run between Jaipur and Delhi Cantt railway stations in Rajasthan. The Vande Bharat Express will begin regular service on April 13. It will run from Ajmer to Delhi Cantt, with stops in Jaipur, Alwar, and Gurgaon. The new Vande Bharat Express will cover the distance between Delhi Cantt. and Ajmer in 5 hours and 15 minutes, according to the schedule.
Shatabdi Express, the current fastest train on the same route, takes 6 hours and 15 minutes. The new Vande Bharat Express will be 60 minutes faster than the current fastest train along the same route.
The Ajmer-Delhi Cantt Vande Bharat Express will be the world’s first semi-high-speed passenger train to operate on high-rise overhead electric (OHE) lines.
The train will improve connectivity to major tourist destinations in Rajasthan, such as Pushkar and the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, among other places that attract a large number of visitors throughout the year. Improved connectivity will also help the region’s socioeconomic development.
On April 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express in Chennai. It was the second train in the semi-high-speed class to depart on the same day, following the Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express from Telangana’s Secunderabad Railway Station.
PM Modi had previously launched India’s eighth Vande Bharat Express between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam in January. The announcement comes just a week after Prime Minister Modi launched the Vande Bharat Express on the Bhopal-New Delhi route.
The Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express makes stops in Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole, and Nellore on its 660-kilometer journey between the cities. Vande Bharat Express is a self-propelled, semi-high-speed train set manufactured in India. The train is outfitted with cutting-edge passenger amenities, allowing passengers to travel faster, more comfortably, and conveniently.
