Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off nine Vande Bharat trains on Sunday (September 24) virtually on the Udaipur-Jaipur, Kacheguda-Yesvantpur, Kasargod-Thiruvananthapuram, Ranchi-Howrah, Patna-Howrah, Tirunelveli-Chennai, Rourkela- Puri, Jamnagar-Ahmedabad, and Vijayawada-Chennai routes. The fares of the trains will be revealed on Friday.
The Vande Bharat train between Udaipur and Jaipur will cover five districts — Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Ajmer, and Jaipur — stopping at Kishangarh, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Chanderia, Mavli Junction, Rana Pratap Nagar, and Udaipur stations. The train will depart from Udaipur at 7:50 AM and reach Jaipur at 1:50 PM, while the train from Jaipur will leave at 4 PM and reach Udaipur at 10 PM.
The Kacheguda-Yesvantpur will cover a distance of 609 km in 8 hours and 30 minutes. Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy and senior officials will attend the launch at Kacheguda station. According to news agency IANS, train no. 20703 Kacheguda-Yesvantpur Vande Bharat Express will depart from Kacheguda at 5:30 AM and reach Yesvantpur at 2 PM, with stoppages at Mahabubnagar, Kurnool, Anantapur, Dharmavaram, and Hindupur.
The Vijayawada-Chennai Vande Bharat will operate on all days except Thursday. It will depart from Vijayawada at 5:30 AM and reach Chennai at 12:10 PM. The stoppages will be at Tenali, Ongole, Nellore and Renigunta while on the return direction, the train will leave at 3:20 PM to reach Vijaywada at 10 PM.
Meanwhile, Kerala will get its second Vande Bharat train, which will run between Kasargod and Thiruvananthapuram. It will depart at 7 AM and reach at 3:05 PM. On its return the same day, it leaves Thiruvananthapuram at 4:05 PM and reaches Kasargod at 11:55 PM and it is likely the new service will run through the Alappuzha route.
The indigenously manufactured, semi-high-speed trains have been incorporated with several new features to enhance the comfort of the passengers, railway officials told IANS.
Currently, 25 pairs of Vande Bharat trains are being operated across Indian Railways. In South Central Railway, two pairs have been running successfully with 120 per cent patronage. These trains are Secunderabad-Tirupati-Secunderabad and Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad.