Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first Vande Bharat Express train on April 25 from Thiruvananthapuram. The semi high-speed train will run between Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur. The government has sanctioned two Vande Bharat trains for Kerala.
The Vande Bharat train has 16 modern coaches and will provide uninterrupted services to the people. The Indian Railways will conduct a trial run on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur stretch on April 22. The track augmentation and modernisation of the signaling system is being conducted on a war footing, news agency IANS reported citing sources in the railways. Based on the nature of the tracks in Kerala, the speed is limited to 110 km per hour instead of the 180 km per hour the train can travel.
PM Modi will reach Kochi on April 24 to participate in a programme titled 'YuVAM', where he will be interacting with around 1 lakh youth and a high level campaign is being undertaken by the state BJP to make it a major success.
Talking to IANS, BJP national executive member and Railway Passenger Amenities Committee Chairman P.K. Krishnadas termed the Vande Bharat trains a Vishu gift to the people of Kerala by the Narendra Modi government.
About Vande Bharat train
Vande Bharat Express is an indigenously manufactured, semi-high speed and self-propelled train set. The train is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities, providing passengers with a faster, more comfortable and convenient travel experience. The Vande Bharat train is India's first indigenously manufactured semi-high-speed trainset, also known as Train 18. It is designed to run at speeds of up to 160 km/h and is equipped with modern amenities such as GPS-based passenger information systems, onboard Wi-Fi, and CCTV cameras for enhanced security.
There has been a growing demand for the introduction of sleeper class Vande Bharat trainsets, which are capable of operating on long-distance routes such as Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah. Currently, all operational Vande Bharat trains only have chair car and executive chair car classes, which cater to shorter distance routes.
Earlier this month on April 12, the Prime Minister flagged off Rajasthan's first Vande Bharat Express train. The inaugural Vande Bharat Express in Rajasthan plied between Jaipur and Delhi Cantt. railway station. Prime Minister Modi on April 8 flagged off the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express in Chennai. It was the second train in the semi-high-speed class to be flagged off on the same day after the Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express, which rolled out of the Secunderabad Railway Station in Telangana.
Earlier, in January, PM Modi had flagged off India's eighth Vande Bharat Express between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam.The launch came a week after Prime Minister Modi flagged off a Vande Bharat Express on the Bhopal-New Delhi route. The Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express has stops at Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole, and Nellore stations while it covers its 660 km journey between the cities.
(With IANS inputs)
Also Read: Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat train breaches 160 kmph speed limit | Watch video
