Two new pairs of Vande Bharat trains — between Secunderabad and Tirupati, and Chennai and Coimbatore — will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8, taking the tally of these semi-high-speed trains running across the country to 13.
While the Railway Ministry is yet to share the timetable and other details about the trains, speaking to News18, a ministry official said the Secunderabad and Tirupati Vande Bharat — which will connect IT hub Hyderabad with the religious town of Tirupati — will reduce the travel time between the two cities by almost three-and-a-half hours.
It is the second Vande Bharat train to be started from Telangana. Earlier this year, on January 15, PM Modi inaugurated the Secunderabad- Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat.
“The latest Vande Bharat train will be particularly beneficial for pilgrims,” the official said, seeking anonymity.
Later the same day, the prime minister will also flag off the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express, the official confirmed. The Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat will be the second such train from Tamil Nadu’s capital.
Last Saturday, on April 1, PM Modi flagged off the Delhi-Bhopal Vande Bharat train. Currently, of the 11 Vande Bharat, four are from Delhi and three from Mumbai.
Four trains are running from Delhi to Varanasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Bhopal and Amb Andaura. Three are running from Mumbai to Gandhinagar, Shirdi and Solapur. Vande Bharat trains are also operational between Chennai-Mysore, Bilaspur-Nagpur, Howrah-New Jalpaiguri, and Secunderabad-Vishakhapatnam.
The prime minister had promised that in the 75 weeks of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, 75 Vande Bharat trains would connect every corner of the country. The first Vande Bharat train was inaugurated in 2019.
In March, the Standing Committee on Railways asked the ministry to intensify production of rakes and coaches to meet the aspirations and demands of commuters. For financial year 2022-23, the Ministry of Railways had planned 35 Vande Bharat trains, but could manage to deliver just eight.
The parliamentary panel had warned the Railways that it may find it difficult to achieve the set targets and asked it to intensify efforts for production of Vande Bharat trains.
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