Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to flag off Northeast India's first Vande Bharat Express train on May 29 at 12 noon via video-conferencing. The Vande Bharat will travel from West Bengal's New Jalpaiguri Station to Assam's Guwahati. A senior official told PTI that the North-East Frontier Railways (NFR) will be officially launched on May 29. The Vande Bharat Express will be the first in the Northeast, the third in Bengal, and the 18th in India. The Vande Bharat Express from New Jalpaiguri to Guwahati will travel 410 kilometres in six hours.
The train will run six days a week and will stop at six stations: New Alipurduar, Kokrajhar, New Bongaigaon, and Kamakhya, as well as junctions in New Jalpaiguri and Guwahati.
The train will leave New Jalpaiguri at 6.10 AM and arrive in Guwahati at midday. Vande Bharat Express will depart Guwahati at 4.30 PM and arrive in New Jalpaiguri around 10.20 PM.
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Aside from the Vande Bharat Express, PM Modi will dedicate a 182 km route of the newly electrified section to help provide pollution-free transportation with trains running at higher speeds and shorter train runs. He will also dedicate a newly built DEMU/MEMU shed in Lumding, Assam, which will aid in the maintenance of DEMU rakes operating in the region, leading to improved operational feasibility, according to a government release.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced in March that the Vande Bharat Express would reach Rangpo in Sikkim by December 2024. The railway network to Rangpo is currently under construction.
According to the rail minister, at least 14 tunnels and 17 bridges will connect the northeastern state to Bengal via the Sevoke-Rangpo railway tracks. The stretch will most likely be completed this year, he added.
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