Eastern India’s first Vande Bharat Express train arrived in West Bengal for a trial run on Sunday, according to reports. Prime Minister Modi will flag off a Vande Bharat Express, the seventh such train, connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri in north Bengal on December 30.
The express train will be kept at the Howrah sorting yard for maintenance and put on trial and 10 specially trained officials have reached the site, according to a Hindustan Times report. A special yard has been set up for the Vande Bharat train, it added. The train arrived at the Liluah loco shed of Eastern Railway as per a PTI report.
Prime Minister Modi will flag off the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express on December 30 and the train will depart Howrah early in the morning and reach NJP in the afternoon.
West Bengal BJP Chief on Thursday confirmed the flagging off of the train and said he is “extremely thankful” to PM Modi for gifting the people of North Bengal with Vande Bharat express. Attacking the ruling Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government, he said, “While the State Govt. keeps depriving the people of North Bengal, Modiji will flag off the train on 30th December 2022.”
Extremely thankful to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji for gifting the people of North Bengal with Vande Bharat express (HWH-NJP). While the State Govt. keeps depriving the people of North Bengal, Modiji will flag off the train on 30th December 2022.— Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) December 22, 2022
The superfast train with modern passenger amenities will take around 7.5 hours on its run in both directions, Eastern Railway spokesperson Ekalabya Chakraborty said. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express service from Howrah to New Jalpaiguri on December 30,” he told PTI.
The train will leave the Howrah station at 6 am to reach the New Jalpaiguri station at 1.30 pm, and after a one-hour stopover, it will leave the north Bengal station at 2.30 pm and reach Howrah at 10 pm, Chakraborty said.
The train will run six days a week under the provisional timetable formulated by Eastern Railway’s operations division, as per a report by The Statesman. It won’t be broadcast on Wednesdays every week, it added.
Once launched, the Vande Bharat Express is expected to attract tourists travelling to the hill stations in north Bengal, the Dooars as well as the state of Sikkim.
The Vande Bharat Express can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph and has travel classes like Shatabdi trains but with better facilities. It aims to provide a totally new travel experience to passengers.
The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off by PM Modi on February 15, 2019, between New Delhi and Varanasi.
Currently, Vande Bharat Express runs between New Delhi and Shri Vaishno Devi Mata, Katra; New Delhi and Varanasi; Gandhinagar Capital and Mumbai Central; Amb Andaura and New Delhi; Mysuru and Chennai Central; and Nagpur and Bilaspur.
The Railways Ministry is aiming to induct at least 75 Vande Bharat trains by August 2023.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget Speech 2022-23, announced that 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains will be developed and manufactured in the next three years. These will have better energy efficiency and passenger experience.
According to the Railway Ministry documents seen by News18, at least 35 Vande Bharat rakes have been approved in the Coach Production Programme for the current financial year, while 67 have been approved for the next financial year (2023-24).
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