Vande Bharat Express: PM Modi flags off nine trains connecting 11 states
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off nine Vande Bharat trains virtually in a move that is expected to significantly improve rail connectivity to religious and tourist destinations across 11 Indian states.
«Speed, scale of infrastructure development is matching aspirations of 140 crore Indians,» PM Modi at the event he attended virtually. He added that popularity of Vande Bharat trains is rising constantly rising as over 1.11 crore passengers have already travelled in them.
According to an official statement, these new Vande Bharat trains will be the fastest on their respective routes, ensuring passengers save a considerable amount of time during their journeys.
«Now, 25 Vande Bharat trains running, now nine more added; that day is not far when these trains will connect all parts of country,» said PM Modi.
«Under PM Modi's vision the railway sector has transformed in the past nine years… Several new facilities are being installed,» said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the event.
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The routes on which these trains will operate are as follows:
- Udaipur — Jaipur
- Tirunelveli-Madurai — Chennai
- Hyderabad — Bengaluru
- Vijayawada — Chennai (via Renigunta)
- Patna — Howrah
- Kasaragod — Thiruvananthapuram
- Rourkela — Bhubaneswar — Puri
- Ranchi — Howrah
- Jamnagar — Ahmedabad
Compared to the current fastest trains on these routes, the Vande Bharat trains are expected to significantly reduce travel times. For instance, the journey between Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, and Puri will be shortened by approximately three hours. Similarly, travel time between Hyderabad and Bengaluru will be reduced by over 2.5 hours, while the route from Tirunelveli to Madurai to Chennai will see a reduction
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