PM Modi to inaugurate 9 Vande Bharat Express trains on September 24

The Kacheguda-Yesvantpur train will pass via Mahabubnagar in Telangana and Kurnool, Anantapur, and Dharmavaram in Andhra Pradesh. (Representative Image)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off nine Vande Bharat express train on 24 September, ministry officials told News18. Among these nine trains, the Indian Railways is set to launch two trains for West Bengal’s Howrah and Tamil Nadu’s Chennai while one each for Kerala, Odisha, Telangana, Gujarat and poll-bound Rajasthan.

As per the report, these semi-high speed trains will be eight-coach trains. The nine routes that will be flagged off on Sunday are - Ranchi-Howrah, Patna-Howrah, Vijayawada-Chennai, Tirunelveli-Chennai, Rourkela- Puri, Udaipur-Jaipur, Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram, Jamnagar-Ahmedabad and Hyderabad-Bengaluru.

Speaking of the Tirunelveli-Chennai Vande Bharat Express train, the first train will reportedly leave from Tirunelveli Junction 6 am and reach Chennai around 1:50 pm while the return journey will begin at 2:50 pm on all days except Tuesdays.

According to reports, the locomotive will be operated at an average speed of 83.30 km and halt at Virudhunagar, Madurai, Dindigul and Tiruchi.

Meanwhile this will also be Tamil Nadu's third Vande Bharat route after the launch of Chennai-Mysuru Vande Bharat Express in November last year and subsequently the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat train.

The Vijayawada-MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express will pass via Tenali, Ongole, Nellore, and Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy are expected to attend the event at Vijayawada Railway Station.

Speaking of the other Vande Bharat express between Vijayawada-Chennai, this train will cover the distance between the two cities in 6 hours and 40 minutes, report by The Hindu has stated.

Earlier this month, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had also said that Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch would soon get a Vande Bharat Express soon.

While addressing the public at Neemuch on 4 September, the Railway Minister had said, “It is time for Vande Bharat to run on this route. Your Member of Parliament (MP) Sudhir Gupta has already requested for the same. Vande Bharat Express will run on your route soon," as quoted by ANI.

Meanwhile, Vande Bharat Express is an indigenously manufactured, semi-high-speed, self-propelled train set. The train has state-of-the-art passenger amenities, providing passengers with a faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience.

As per a recent press release by Central Railway, the total number of passengers who travelled in Vande Bharat trains in the Central Railway region from 15 August-8 September is 1.22 lakh.

The total revenue earned by the Railways through these services in the above-mentioned time period is 10.72 crores. As per the press release, the Bilaspur-Nagpur Express saw the highest occupancy rate of 122.56 percent while GOA Madgaon- CSMT Express saw lowest occupancy rate of 75.50 percent.

The occupancy rates for other trains running through the Central Railway include - Nagpur-Bilaspur Express (106.40 percent); CSMT Shirdi Express (81.33 percent); Shirdi-CSMT Express (81.88 percent); CSMT Solapur Express (93.71 percent); Solapur CSMT Express (105.09 percent); Madgaon Express (92.05 percent).