PM Narendra Modi's West Bengal visit: East India's first Vande Bharat Express flag off tomorrow

The Vande Bharat Express train will be the first express train between New Jalpaiguri (NJP), Siliguri to Kolkata, West Bengal after Shatabdi Express.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off East/ North East India's first Vande Bharat Express train on December 30 (Friday) during his West Bengal visit. He will be visiting the state on Friday to launch development projects worth over Rs 7,800 crore and flag off the Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri. This will be the India's seventh Vande Bharat Express and recently completed its trial run from Howrah-New Jalpaiguri station under the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR). 

The Vande Bharat Express train will be the first express train between New Jalpaiguri (NJP), Siliguri to Kolkata after Shatabdi Express. Vande Bharat will have Passenger-friendly facilities like automatic doors and Wifi access.

A key focus of the programmes in West Bengal is connectivity. The Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express would be flagged off. The foundation stone for the re-development of New Jalpaiguri Railway Station will also be laid. pic.twitter.com/JeHrT0EZQ9 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 29, 2022

PM Modi will also inaugurate Joka-Taratala stretch of Purple Line of Kolkata Metro, launch multiple railway projects and lay the foundation stone of redevelopment of the New Jalpaiguri railway station.

Vande Bharat 2.0

The Vande Bharat 2.0 trains have the KAVACH (Train Collision Avoidance System) for enhanced safety in operations. There will be improved security with four emergency windows added in every coach. There will be four platform side cameras including rearview cameras outside the coach instead of two earlier.

The Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18, is a semi-high-speed, intercity, electric multiple-unit train operated by the Indian Railways. It is an advanced version of Vande Bharat compared to the earlier ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speed in shorter duration. It accelerates to 100 km per hour in just 52 seconds.

Vande Bharat routes

PM Narendra Modi has flagged off all the seven Vande Bharat trains in India. The first Vande Bharat trains run between New Delhi - Varanasi, second between New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (J&K), third between Gandhinagar and Mumbai, fourth between New Delhi to Amb Andaura in Himachal Pradesh, fifth between Chennai-Mysuru and sixth, being the latest, runs between Nagpur-Bilaspur.

With agencies inputs