Prime Minister Narendra Modi today will inaugurate two Vande Bharat Express trains in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, increasing the total count of semi-high-speed trains in India to 25.
According to an official statement, the Prime Minister will unveil the Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express and Jodhpur-Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) Vande Bharat Express trains. The Central Government’s official handle tweeted, “PM Narendra Modi is set to launch 2 more Vande Bharat Express from Gorakhpur, increasing the fleet to 25. Marked by its rapid turnaround time, Vande Bharat is defining a new era of efficient rail travel. Get onboard, as we witness history being made with every new route.”
Scheduled for July 7, PM Modi’s visit to Gorakhpur will witness the flagging off of the Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express and Jodhpur-Sabarmati Vande Bharat Express.
The Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express will connect the city of Baba Gorakhnath to Ayodhya, the city of Lord Ram, and the city of Nawabs, Lucknow. This improved connectivity will benefit tourist destinations such as Kushinagar, Siddharthnagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, and the town associated with the 15th-century mystic poet ‘Kabir.’
The upcoming blue-and-white Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train that will establish a vital link between Gorakhpur, also known as Baba Gorakhnath’s city, and Lucknow, known as the city of Nawabs. The train will consist of eight coaches, including seven air-conditioned coaches and one executive chair car.
The Jodhpur-Sabarmati Vande Bharat Express will enhance connectivity between the area of Rajputana and Ahmedabad, the city of Mahatma Gandhi. The train will connect various cities on its route, including Pali, Abu Road, Palanpur, and Mehsana, benefiting significant tourist sites in Jodhpur and Ahmedabad.
According to a press release by the Western Railway (WR), the semi-high-speed train will depart from Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) at 4:45 pm and reach Jodhpur at 10:55 pm on the same day. For the return journey, the train will depart from Jodhpur at 05:55 am and arrive in Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) at 12:05 pm on the same day.
It is worth noting that the Vande Bharat Express, India’s semi-high-speed train, now offers its services in all rail-electrified states across the country. With 46 operational services, the Vande Bharat Express has transformed rail travel by providing state-of-the-art amenities and reducing travel time for passengers. Following the launch of these two new trains on July 7, the operational services of Vande Bharat Express will reach a significant milestone of 50 services.
The first Vande Bharat Express was inaugurated on February 15, 2019, by the Prime Minister, operating between New Delhi and Varanasi. Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the train exemplifies the ‘Make-In-India’ initiative and showcases India’s engineering capabilities.
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The project to manufacture indigenous semi-high-speed train sets began in mid-2017, and within 18 months, the ICF Chennai completed Train-18. In January 2019, India’s first semi-high-speed train was rechristened as Vande Bharat Express to emphasize its made-in-India status. The train achieved a maximum speed of 180 kmph on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section.