Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off as many as 10 new Vande Bharat Express trans across various routes in the country on Tuesday. These include Jharkhand's third Vande Bharat Express train which will run between Ranchi to Varanasi. According to an official, the regular run of the Ranchi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express will begin on March 18.
10 new Vande Bharat trains on THESE routes:
- Ranchi-Varanasi
- New Jalpaiguri-Patna
- Patna-Lucknow
- Lucknow-Dehradun
- Puri-Visakhapatnam
- Kalaburagi–Bengaluru
- Ahmedabad-Mumbai
- Khajuraho-Delhi
- Mysuru-Chennai routes
- Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam
Some key highlights of Ranchi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express:
- The fare between Ranchi and Varanasi will be Rs 2,325 for the Executive AC Chair Car
- The fare for the AC Chair Car will be Rs 1,160 without meals.
- The train will run six days a week, excluding Thursday.
- The train will complete the 571 km distance in seven hours and fifty minutes.
- The train will depart from Ranchi at 5.10 am and reach Varanasi at 1 pm.
- While returning, it will leave Varanasi at 4.05 pm and reach Ranchi at 11.55 pm.
- The train will have stops at Muri, Bokaro Steel City, Koderma, Gaya, Sasaram and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction.
Other key inaugurations in Jharkhand
The state's first Vande Bharat Express, which operates between Ranchi and Patna, was flagged off on June 27, 2023, while the second Vande Bharat between Ranchi and Howrah was launched on September 24 last year. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Hatia-Asansol-Hatia Express and doubling of Ranchi-Bondamunda railway line and stalls under 'One Station One Product' scheme at Ranchi, Hatia, Govindpur Road, Itki, Muri, Piska, Silli, Tangarbasuli, Tatisilwai stations, Barkakana, Ranchi Road and Pradhan Khanta stations under different railway divisions in Jharkhand.
Vande Bharat Express on Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru route
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi will also virtually flag off the inaugural run of the Vande Bharat Express between Dr MGR Chennai Central and Mysuru on Tuesday. He will also inaugurate the extended Vande Bharat Service from Mangaluru Central to Thiruvananthapuram Central, and the new Kollam–Tirupati Express, through video conferencing.
The Chennai–Bengaluru–Mysuru train is the second Vande Bharat Express in this section. The first in this route was launched in 2022.
The inaugural run of Train No 20664 Dr MGR Chennai Central–SMVT Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express will depart from Chennai at 09.15 hours and arrive in Bengaluru at 14.20 hours on Tuesday, with stops in Katpadi and Krishnarajapuram. However, the regular service will begin only on March 14, as the train runs all days of the week, except Wednesdays.
(With PTI inputs)
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