PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate 3 new Vande Bharat trains — Chennai-Nagercoil, Madurai-Bengaluru and Meerut-Lucknow — on Saturday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate three new Vande Bharat Express trains on Saturday. These trains will run from Chennai-Nagercoil, Madurai-Bengaluru and Meerut-Lucknow. With these new trains, the fleet of the newly inducted train sets will reach 54.
It will be the first time that Vande Bharat train will run on these three routes offering improved regional connectivity in these three states – Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Both Chennai-Nagercoil and Madurai-Bengaluru will offer connectivity to temple town Madurai. While Chennai-Nagercoil Vande Bharat will ease the journey from the small temple town in Tamil Nadu in both north and south directions, the other train will directly connect the city with Bengaluru – the state capital of Karnataka. One of these is a dedicated train, while another will have just a stoppage.
As per the Railway Ministry, since its launch in 2019, the Vande Bharat Express has become a symbol of comfort, speed and luxurious train travel.
“This indigenously developed train was first introduced on February 15, 2019, under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Today, more than 100 Vande Bharat Express train services are operational across the country, extending connectivity to over 280 districts and transforming the travel experience for millions,” the Ministry said.
Madurai-Bengaluru
The first Vande Bharat train between Madurai and Bengaluru will complete the journey in 7 hours and 45 minutes from Madurai and 8 hours 15 minutes for the return journey.
After starting from Madurai, the train will stop at Dindigul, Tiruchchirappalli, Karur, Namkkal, Salem, Krishnarajapuram, before conducting the journey at Bengaluru Cantt.
“This Vande Bharat service will connect the bustling temple city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu with the cosmopolitan city of Bengaluru, also the state capital of Karnataka. It will also facilitate businessmen, students and other working personnels in commuting from their native places in Tamil Nadu to the metropolitan city Bengaluru,” the Ministry added.
Bengaluru has direct Vande Bharat trains for Kalaburagi, Dharwad and Coimbatore.
Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil
Another intrastate Vande Bharat for Tamil Nadu, the new train is the first for the Chennai Egmore–Nagercoil route. The Vande Bharat will connect the capital of the state with the scenic town of Nagercoil, situated just 20 km from Kanyakumari.
“This train will cover 726 km in the state of Tamil Nadu and will provide modern and faster train travel experience to the people of 12 districts of Tamil Nadu — Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Dindigul, Trichy, Perambalur, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Chengalpattu and Chennai. This Vande Bharat train service will facilitate pilgrims travelling to the divine Arulmigu Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai & Kumari Amman Temple, Kanniyakumari,” it said.
The train, after starting from Chennai Egmore, will have stops at Tambaram,Villupuram, Tiruchchirappalli, Dindigul, Madurai, Kovilpatti, and Tirunelveli before concluding the journey at Nagercoil.
This is the third intrastate Vande Bharat for Tamil Nadu after Chennai-Coimbatore and Tirunelveli-Chennai Egmore. This is the sixth dedicated Vande Bharat train from Chennai, including two for Mysuru. Another train connects the capital city with Vijaywada.
Meerut-Lucknow
The train will complete the journey 7 hours 10 minutes from Meerut and 7 hours and 15 minutes from Lucknow with stoppages at Moradabad and Bareilly.
Offering connectivity between Meerut – industrial hub for sports goods, musical instruments, sugar and electronics – with the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, the new Vande Bharat will also ease the journey for those traveling to and from Moradabad and Bareilly.
This will be the second intrastate Vande Bharat for the state and 11th for the state. So far, Vande Bharat trains connect Varanasi-Delhi, Varanasi-Ranchi, Lucknow-Dehradun, Delhi-Ayodhya, Delhi-Dehradun, Gorakhpur-Prayagraj, Delhi-Bhopal and Patna-Lucknow.
This the second Vande Bharat train for Lucknow even as Gorakhpur-Prayagraj and Delhi-Ayodhya have stoppages at the city.
