Vande Bharat trains: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two Vande Bharat trains from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Friday, February 10. The Prime Minister first inaugurated CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat Express followed by the second semi-high-speed train linking the financial capital to Sainagar Shirdi.
Also, the PM inaugurated other development projects in Mumbai in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
While addressing the inaugural event in Mumbai, PM Modi said It was a historical day for Maharashtra and the first time a state got two Vande Bharat trains.
"New trains will connect financial centres like Mumbai and Pune to centres of our devotion. It'll benefit college-going and office-going people, farmers and devotees," he added.
Once upon a time, Members of Parliament used to write for getting stoppage of trains in their constituencies but now they demand Vande Bharat train, it shows the picture of progressive India, he added.
"Vande Bharat train is a magnificent picture of today's modern India. It's a reflection of India's speed & scale. You can see the speed with which the country is launching Vande Bharat. 10 trains are launched so far," he added.
Besides, the Prime Minister launched a new campus of an educational institute of the Dawoodi Bohra community as well as two elevated road corridors and a vehicular underpass during his visit to the metropolis.
Later in the day, PM Modi is also slated to inaugurate a new campus of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah (The Saifee Academy), at Marol in suburban Andheri and dedicate infrastructure projects to the nation. The academy is the principal educational institute of the Dawoodi Bohra community. Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah is working to protect the learning traditions and literary culture of the community.
Some key highlights of Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express
- The Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express will cover the 455-kilometre distance y in 6 hours and 30 minutes.
- It will save nearly one hour in current timings between the country's commercial capital and the premier textile city.
- It will improve connectivity between the two cities and also facilitate.
- It will facilitate travel to important pilgrimage centres like Siddheshwar in Solapur, Akkalkot, Tuljapur, Pandharpur near Solapur and Alandi in Pune district.
- The one-way fare without catering service will be Rs 1,000 for the chair car and Rs 2,015 for the executive chair car.
- The fares for the two classes with catering will be Rs 1,300 and Rs 2,365 respectively.
- The train will depart from CSMT at 4.05 pm and reach Solapur at 10.40 pm.
- It will depart from Solapur at 6.05 am and reach CSMT at 12.35 pm.
- The Train will not run on Wednesday from CSMT and on Thursday from Solapur.
Highlights of Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express
- The Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express will take 5 hours and 25 minutes to cover 343 kilometres.
- The train will reduce the current travel time by around two hours between Mumbai to Sainagar Shirdi.
- It will also connect India's most patronised temple towns as well as other pilgrimage centres in Nashik, Trimbakeshwar and Shani Singanapur.
- The one-way fare without catering service will be Rs 840 for the chair car and Rs 1,670 for the executive chair car.
- The fares for the two classes with catering will be Rs 975 and Rs 1,840 respectively.
- The CSMT-Sainagar Shirdi service will run six days a week except for Tuesday.
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Vande Bharat rakes went under trials
The Vande Bharat rakes, built-in Integral Coach Factory near Chennai, arrived in the city on February 2 and 6, and then underwent trials in Bhor Ghat between Karjat and Lonavala, The trials were also conducted at Thal Ghat between Kasara and Igatpuri to test its capability to travel on the steep gradient on both routes.
It should be mentioned here that this was PM Modi's second visit to the city in less than a month. On January 19, the PM inaugurated and laid foundation stones for infrastructure and healthcare projects worth more than Rs 38,000 crore in the financial capital.
(With inputs from agencies)
