India will get its 11th Vande Bharat train from next month as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag one off between Bhopal and New Delhi at Rani Kamlapati Railway Station at 3.15pm on Saturday, a statement from Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday.
“The new train being introduced between Rani Kamlapati Railway station, Bhopal, and New Delhi railway station will be the eleventh Vande Bharat train in the country. The indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat Express is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities. It will provide faster, comfortable and convenient travel experience to the rail users, boost tourism and promote economic development in the region,” it said.
While there are no official announcements, a ministry official confirmed to News18 that a number of Vande Bharat trains are in the pipeline.
Speaking to News18, a ministry official said the Bhopal-Delhi train will be the fourth Vande Bharat from the national capital and a trial of another train between Delhi and Jaipur is underway. This train is expected to go till Ajmer.
Also, in April, another Vande Bharat — second for Southern Railway — is expected to be launched. The Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express will be the second Vande Bharat from Chennai as well. In November 2022, the Chennai-Mysuru Vande Bharat was launched.
Another Vande Bharat between New Jalpaiguri and Guwahati is also expected to be launched soon. The ministry, however, has not made any official announcement so far about this train.
“We will keep updating as and when we are making progress,” the official said, demanding anonymity.
So far, 10 Vande Bharat trains have been inaugurated, including two from Delhi for Varanasi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra running since 2019.
Eight new and improved versions of Vande Bharat trains with enhanced safety features, better ride index and passenger amenities have been introduced in the last couple of months between Mumbai Central-Gandhi Nagar Capital, New Delhi-Amb Andaura, Chennai-Mysore, Bilaspur-Nagpur, Howrah-New Jalpaigudi, Secundrabad-Vishkhapatnam, Mumbai-Sholapur and Mumbai-Shirdi.
The ministry is yet to share the details of the Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat train. However, it is expected to complete the 708km distance in 7.45 hours.
Currently, the fastest train between Delhi and Rani Kamlapati Railway Station is Hazrat Nizamuddin-Secunderabad Duronto Express that takes eight hours and 15 minutes. This train operates only twice a week.
Next in line is Bhopal Shatabdi that completes the journey in 8.40 hours. It operates all days of the week.
Earlier this month, the Standing Committee on Railways asked the ministry to intensify production of rakes and coaches to meet the aspirations and demands of commuters.
It also warned the ministry that it may fall short of its targets as the Railways had planned 35 Vande Bharat trains for the 2022-23 financial year but could only manage to deliver eight.
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