New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated nine Vande Bharat Express trains on Sunday through video conferencing. These trains will link religious and tourist places across 11 states. Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Gujarat are the states that will benefit from the Vande Bharat trains.
“This infrastructural development has matched aspirations of 140 crore Indians and this is what the country wants now. That day is not far when Vande Bharat trains will connect each and every part of the country,” says PM Modi as he flags off nine Vande Bharat Express trains via video conferencing. Addressing the inauguration event virtually PM Modi said, “These Vande Bharat trains show the new spirit and excitement of new India.”
11 New Trains To Connect Major Religious Towns
A PMO statement said that these trains will connect important religious towns of Puri and Madurai as well as the Tirupati Pilgrimage Centre, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to improve connectivity of important religious places across the country. Rourkela- Bhubaneswar – Puri Vande Bharat Express and Tirunelveli-Madurai- Chennai Vande Bharat Express will connect Puri and Madurai respectively. The Vijayawada – Chennai Vande Bharat Express will run via the Renigunta route and will provide connectivity to Tirupati.
The new trains that were inaugurated are Udaipur – Jaipur Vande Bharat Express, Tirunelveli-Madurai- Chennai Vande Bharat Express, Hyderabad –Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, Vijayawada – Chennai (via Renigunta) Vande Bharat Express, Patna – Howrah Vande Bharat Express, Kasaragod – Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express, Rourkela – Bhubaneswar – Puri Vande Bharat Express, Ranchi – Howrah Vande Bharat Express and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express. These Vande Bharat trains will be the fastest trains on their routes and will help save a lot of time for the passengers.
Compared to the current fastest train on the route, Rourkela- Bhubaneswar – Puri Vande Bharat Express and Kasaragod – Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express will be quicker by about 3 hours; Hyderabad – Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express by more than 2.5 hours; Tirunelveli-Madurai- Chennai Vande Bharat Express by more than 2 hours; Ranchi – Howrah Vande Bharat Express, Patna – Howrah Vande Bharat Express and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express by about 1 hour; and Udaipur – Jaipur Vande Bharat Express by about half an hour.
A PMO statement said that these trains will connect important religious towns of Puri and Madurai as well as the Tirupati Pilgrimage Centre, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to improve connectivity of important religious places across the country. Rourkela- Bhubaneswar – Puri Vande Bharat Express and Tirunelveli-Madurai- Chennai Vande Bharat Express will connect Puri and Madurai respectively. The Vijayawada – Chennai Vande Bharat Express will run via the Renigunta route and will provide connectivity to Tirupati.
The PMO statement also said that these Vande Bharat trains will set a new standard of rail service in the country. These trains have world-class amenities and advanced safety features, including Kavach technology. They will provide modern, fast and comfortable travel to common people, professionals, businessmen, students and tourists.”