New Delhi: The newly launched Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express has become one of the fastest trains in India as it reached the maximum speed limit of 161 kilometres per hour during its launch run on Saturday. The train cuts the travel time between Rani Kamlapati Railway Station in Bhopal and Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi by an hour.
On its inaugural run on April 1, the Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express breached its expected speed limit of 160 kmph and touched the speed of 161 kmph between Raja ki Mandi in Agra and Mathura, said officials. Notably, a small stretch of the track between the Agra Cantonment and Nizamuddin railway stations has been designed in a manner to fit the speed limit.
Earlier, the Ministry of Railways had said that the Rani Kamalapati-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express train can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph over the Agra Cantonment-Tuglakabad section.
Sharing a video on Twitter, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "140…145…150...160 kmph raftar desh ki (speed of country)!! Our #VandeBharat". In a video it can be seen that the GPS speed monitor on a mobile is showing the real-time speed of the train and as the speed limit was breached the passengers cheer in joy.
Also Read: PM Modi set to flag off Northeast's first Vande Bharat Express in Assam on April 14
PM Modi flagged 11th Vande Bharat Express
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the 11th Vande Bharat Express train between Bhopal and New Delhi on Saturday.
The semi-high speed train was flagged off from the Rani Kamalapati railway station in Bhopal in the afternoon in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Also Read: PM Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express between Bhopal and New Delhi I WATCH
Delhi-Bhopal Vande Bharat Express timing and route
According to the IRCTC, the New Delhi-Bhopal Vande Bharat express will run between the cities six days a week except for Saturday. The train will leave Bhopal at 5:40 am and will arrive in Nizamuddin station at around 1:10 pm.
The train will run from Bhopal's Rani Kamlapati station to Hazrat Nizamuddin station instead of New Delhi railway station. During its journey, the train will pass through Veerangana Laxmibai Jhansi, Gwalior and Agra Cantt railway station.
Eleventh Vande Bharat Express train
Vande Bharat Express has redefined passenger travel experience in the country. 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.
More about Vande Bharat Express
The Vande Bharat Express is a high-performance, electric multiple-unit train operated by Indian Railways. It was designed by RDSO and manufactured by the government-owned Integral Coach Factory (ICF), located in Chennai. It is considered a semi-high-speed train, which is the second fastest train in India.
According to reports, Vande Bharat express remains the most profitable and lucrative business for Indian railways, with the highest occupancy rate of 130 per cent. It should be mentioned here that Vande Bharat was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019.
Upcoming Vande Bharat Express Trains
The Vande Bharat express trains have already been operating on several other routes such as Delhi to Varanasi, Delhi to Himachal Pradesh and Delhi to Jammu. However, the Indian Railways is also planning to start Vande Bharat on the routes from Jaipur to New Delhi, New Jalpaiguri to Guwahati, and Udhampur to Srinagar and Baramulla.
(With PTI inputs)
