A festival bonanza for West Bengal! Indian Railways has introduced two new Vande Bharat Express on Sunday. This is the the third and fourth blue and white colour train for the state. The trains will connect Howrah-Patna and Howrah-Ranchi. Both the trains will be maintained and operated by East Central Railway (ECR) and South Eastern Railway (SER) zone respectively.
Earlier, the national transporter launched two semi-high speed trains between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri, and Howrah and Puri. Both the trains are operating with full passenger occupancy.
Ranchi-Howrah Vande Bharat Express
The Ranchi-Howrah Vande Bharat Express will commence commercial operation from September 27, 2023 (Wednesday). This will be the third blue and white colour train for the state. The train will prove to be immensely beneficial for the students, businessmen, tourists and entrepreneurs. This is going to be the fastest train connectivity between the two capital cities of Jharkhand and West Bengal.
On its journey, the Ranchi-Howrah-Ranchi Vande Bharat Express will stop at six stations. These are – Muri, Kotshila, Purulia, Chandil, Tatanagar and Kharagpur. It will run on all the days of the week except Tuesday.
The train number 20898 Ranchi-Howrah Vande Bharat Express will depart Ranchi at 05:15 hrs and will reach Howrah at 12:20 hrs. In the return direction, train number 20897 Howrah-Ranchi Vande Bharat Express will leave Howrah at 15:45 hrs and will reach Ranchi at 22:50 hrs the same day.
Patna-Howrah Vande Bharat Express
The Howrah-Patna Vande Bharat Express will begin its commercial service from Patna on September 26, 2023 (Tuesday). It will cover 10 districts of both the state i.e. Bihar and West Bengal. These are – Patna, Lakhisarai, Jamui, Deoghar, Kolkata, Jamtara, Paschim Barddhaman, Purba Barddhaman, Hooghly, Howrah.
It will cover a distance of 532 km in six hours and 30 minutes as compared to 8 hours by the existing fastest originating train on this route. Enroute, the train will stop at seven stations – Patna Sahib, Mokama, Lakhisarai, Jasidih, Jamtara, Asansol and Durgapur.
The train will have an average speed of 82 kilometres per hour, while the maximum permitted speed is 130 kmph. With its speed and efficiency, the Vande Bharat Express is set to become a preferred choice for commuters between Patna and Howrah and vice versa.
It will run six days a week except Wednesday. It will depart from Patna at 08:00 hrs and will reach Howrah at 14:35 hrs. On its return journey, the train will leave Howrah at 15:50 hrs and arrive in Patna Junction (PNBE) at 22:40 hrs.