The Indian Railways is all set to launch another Rajdhani Express, the first in six years, taking the total number of luxury trains to 26 in the country. The last time a new Rajdhani Express was launched was in the year 2019 Mumbai CSMT and Delhi. The new Rajdhani Express will operate  from Sairang to Anand Vihar (Terminal).

In a post on X, the Northern Railway said, “A Gift of the New Rajdhani Service! For the convenience of rail passengers, the inaugural run of the Rajdhani Express train is being operated from Sairang (Mizoram) to Anand Vihar (Terminal).”

“With the launch of this service, passengers will benefit from a faster, more comfortable, and direct rail journey, making travel from the Sairang region to Delhi even smoother,” the post read. The train will directly connect the national capital with Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram.

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Rail line with 48 tunnels, 55 bridges

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the northeastern states of Manipur and Mizoram on Saturday, September 13. He will inaugurate the train on Saturday. The train is the first-ever rail service between Mizoram and Delhi. The Sairang-Anand Vihar Rajdhani Express is expected to cover a distance of more than 2500 km in less than 44 hours, reported The Indian Express.

The PM will inaugurate the entire 51.38-km stretch on Saturday. It was built at a cost of about Rs 8,000 crore. Regarded as an engineering marvel, the rail line consists of 48 tunnels, 55 major bridges and 87 minor bridges. 

The total length of tunnels in this project is 12,853 meters. The height of a bridge (no. 196) is 104 meter which is 42 meters taller than the Qutub Minar. The trains would be able to run at speeds of up to 100 kmph on the newly built rail line.

Gift to northeast ahead of PM Modi’s visit

North East Frontier Railway CPRO KK Sharma said that the Bairabi Sairang Railway Project would be the first to connect Aizawl with other parts of the country, fulfilling the dreams of the people.

“PM Modi is bringing a gift for the people of Mizoram. This new railway line will be the first to connect Aizawl with other parts of the country. He is also bringing a gift of three trains for the people of Mizoram, which will include the Rajdhani Express from Sairang to Delhi, as well as trains to Kolkata and Guwahati. There is an atmosphere of joy. People of Mizoram are glad that their dream to travel by train is going to be fulfilled,” KK Sharma told ANI.

“This will benefit the local tourism economy, students from here who are studying in other states, and the transportation of agricultural and horticultural produce. This railway line may spread further and reach the Myanmar border,” he further said.

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Route of Sairang-Anand Vihar Rajdhani Express

The new Rajdhani Express train will depart Sairang station, 22 km from Aizawl, at 10 am on September 13 and reach Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi at 7:30 am the next day.

People will be able to commute through the train from September 19. Train number 20597 will leave Sairang at 4:30 pm and arrive in Anand Vihar Termina; at 10:50 am on September 21. The return trip train, with number 20598, will depart Anand Vihar (ANVT) at 7:50 pm and reach Sairang at 3:15 pm on September 23.

The train has 21 stops and connects stations including  Guwahati, New Cooch Behar, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town, Bhagalpur, Patna, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, and Kanpur. 

Rajdhani Express trains were first introduced in the country in 1969 to connect state capitals with New Delhi.