Indian Railways is set to introduce the country’s 17th Vande Bharat Express train today. The train will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing from New Delhi at 12:30 hrs. He will also dedicate several railway projects worth more than Rs 8,000 crore to the nation.
This is going to be the first and second semi-high speed train for Odisha and West Bengal respectively. The flagging off ceremony will be held at Puri railway station. Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw including others will be present on the occasion.
About Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express:-
This is the first blue and white colour train being operated and maintained by the South Eastern Railway (SER) zone. The train with 16 (sixteen) coaches will run six days a week except Thursday. The train number 22895/22896 Howrah-Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express will begin its commercial run from May 20, 2023 (Saturday).
The ticket booking process for this new age train has already started. The ticket can be booked through the PRS counter and Internet. The train will cover a distance of 502 km in six hours and 25 minutes.
Other railway projects:-
The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for Puri and Cuttack station redevelopment work. Both the stations will be equipped with modern facilities and divyang-friendly (differently-abled) . The station will house a food court, dedicated entry and exit points for passengers, waiting halls, concourse, etc. There is a proposal to build escalators, lifts, etc. The station will have a dedicated parking space for vehicles.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate Beechupalli-Jhartarbha new railway line. He will also dedicate three more rail lines to the nation. These are: (a) Sambalpur-Titlagarh doubling line, (b) Angul-Sukinda new line, (c) Rourkela-Jharsuguda and Manoharpur-Bondamunda third line project.
The Prime Minister will also dedicate 100 per cent electrification of the rail network in Odisha. This will reduce the operating and maintenance cost and reduce reliance on imported crude oil. The national transporter is working tirelessly to modernise its existing infrastructure across the country.