The Vande Bharat express at Guwahati Railway Station after arriving from New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, on the test drive, in Guwahati, Sunday, May 21, 2023.(PTI)
Operating six days a week, it is set to be the third Vande Bharat in West Bengal after the NJP- Howrah and Howrah-Puri trains. The semi-high speed train (Up-22227-Down-22228) will cover around 410 km within 6 hours.
The eight-coach train conducted its first trial run on Sunday.
#VandeBharatExpress the symbol of rail travel with Speed and latest amenities reached Guwahati railway station, the Gateway of the Northeast for the first time during a trial run conducted today from New Jalpaiguri pic.twitter.com/bnhKFryBaQ
— Northeast Frontier Railway (@RailNf) May 21, 2023
Earlier railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the PM has set a goal for the Vande Bharat to run in almost all the states by June. “Vande Metro is being designed for a distance of less than 100 km and for daily travel," he added.
The 16 existing Vande Bharat routes
New Delhi - Varanasi
New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (J&K)
Gandhinagar- Mumbai
New Delhi - Amb Andaura
Chennai-Mysuru
Nagpur-Bilaspur
Howrah - New Jalpaiguri
Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam
Mumbai- Solapur
Mumbai- Shirdi
Hazrat Nizamuddin- Rani Kamlapati station
Secunderabad- Tirupati
Chennai-Coimbatore
Ajmer-Delhi Cantt
Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod
Puri- Howrah
Built at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, Vande Bharat Express is a self-propelled train set with state-of-the-art facilities that offer a hassle-free travel experience.
Last week, Odisha got its first Vande Bharat train running between Puri to Howrah, launched by PM Modi via video conferencing. The newly-launched train was hit by lightning and hailstorm that cracked the windscreen of the driver's cabin on Sunday afternoon near Bhadrak railway station.