India’s 17th Vande Bharat Express is likely to make its maiden run next week. The semi-high speed train is likely to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is going to be the first and second new age train for Odisha and West Bengal respectively.
Speaking to FinancialExpress.com, Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), South Eastern Railway (SER), said, “There is an expectation that the train will be launched next week, but nothing official yet.” The new rake reached Santragachi Carshed on April 26, 2023.
Route of Odisha’s first Vande Bharat Express:-
The new semi-high speed train will run between Howrah and Puri. This will be the first Vande Bharat Express for South Eastern Railway (SER) zone.
Distance and Travel time:-
West Bengal’s second Vande Bharat Express will cover a distance of about 502 km in less than six hours. Currently, the fastest train connecting the two cities is Shatabdi Express. It takes 07:35 hrs to cover the same distance.
Stoppages of Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express:-
The new Vande Bharat Express is likely to halt at a few major stations. These are – Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khurda. The train will halt for a duration of a two-minute at each station.
Speed of HWH-Puri Vande Bharat Express:-
The Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express has touched the speed of 130 km per hour during its trial run.
Trial run of Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express:-
The trial run of Vande Bharat Express between Howrah and Puri has been successful. During the test run, the train departed from Howrah station at 06:10 am and reached Puri in a little over six hours. Again, during its return journey from Puri, the train departed at 01:50 PM and arrived at Howrah at 08:30 PM.