Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off two Vande Bharat Express trains in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, bringing the country's total number of semi-high speed trains to 25. Speaking at the event, PM Modi said Vande Bharat trains have given a new flight to the middle class of the country with facilities and amenities.
Prime Minister Modi launched the Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express and Jodhpur - Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) Vande Bharat Express trains. PM Modi also launched the Gorakhpur railway station redevelopment project, which has been allocated Rs 498 crore.
"Vande Bharat train has given a new flight to the middle class of the country with facilities and amenities. Today, leaders from every corner of the country are writing letters to me asking that Vande Bharat be run from our region as well," PM Narendra Modi said.
PM Modi was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and state Governor Anandiben Patel.
Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express would connect Baba Gorakhnath to Lord Ram's hometown of Ayodhya and the Nawabs' hometown of Lucknow. Tourist destinations such as Kushinagar, Siddharthnagar, and Sant Kabir Nagar, a town named after the 15th-century mystic poet 'Kabir,' would also benefit from increased connectivity.
The blue-and-white Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train that would connect the towns of Gorakhpur, also known as Baba Gorakhnath's city, and Lucknow, also known as Nawabs' city.
The state's first small version of the semi-high-speed train will comprise eight coaches, seven of which will be air-conditioned and one of which will be an executive chair car.
The Jodhpur-Sabarmati Vande Bharat Express would boost connectivity between Rajputana and Ahmedabad, Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace. On the route, the railway will connect the cities of Pali, Abu Road, Palanpur, and Mehsana.
This will assist the ancient cities of Jodhpur and Ahmedabad's key tourism destinations.
According to a Western Railway (WR) media statement, the semi-high-speed train would depart Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) at 4:45 pm and arrive in Jodhpur at 10:55 pm the same day. The train will depart Jodhpur at 05:55 a.m. and arrive in Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) at 12:05 p.m. on the same day.
It is worth noting that the Vande Bharat Express, India's semi-high-speed train set, is currently available in all rail-electrified states around the country. With 46 operating services, the Vande Bharat Express has transformed train travel by delivering cutting-edge facilities and lowering passenger journey time. With the addition of these two new trains on July 7, Vande Bharat Express will reach a critical milestone of 50 services.
The Prime Minister launched off the inaugural Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Varanasi on February 15, 2019. The train set, which was built at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, represents the 'Make-In-India' effort and demonstrates India's engineering expertise.