West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says Vande Bharat Express nothing but old train refurbished with a new engine

Mamata Banerjee also said that the recent incidents of stone pelting on the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express occurred in Bihar and not West Bengal.

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Vande Bharat Express is nothing but an old train refurbished with a new engine said West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at Sagar Island recently. The statement of the West Bengal CM came in a the recent incidents of Vande Bharat train being attacked by stones on the newly inaugurated Howrah-New Jalpaiguri route. While the first incident happened near Malda, the second also occurred in West Bengal. However, dismissing the claims, Banerjee said the incidents occurred in Bihar and not West Bengal and said actions will be taken against those spreading rumours.

PM Narendra Modi earlier flagged off Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express on December 30. This is the seventh Vande Bharat Express train to run in India and the semi high speed train will connect Howrah and New Jalpaiguri, the gateway to the northeast. The blue-and-white train, which covers a distance of 564 km in 7.45 hours, will save three hours of travel time compared to other trains on the route, officials said.

Vande Bharat is the fastest train in India with a top speed of 180 kmph and lots of modern amenities, including Kavach safety system. Here's a look at all the operational Vande Bharat Express routes in India: 

Vande Bharat Routes

Route 1: New Delhi - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express

Route 2: New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (J&K) Vande Bharat Express

Route 3: Gandhinagar and Mumbai Vande Bharat Express

Route 4: New Delhi to Amb Andaura in Himachal Pradesh Vande Bharat Express

Route 5: Chennai-Mysuru Vande Bharat Express

Route 6: Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express

Route 7: Howrah - New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express

Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat train

The train will have three stoppages at Barsoi, Malda and Bolpur. The Vande Bharat express with modern passenger amenities is likely to be preferred both by regular passengers, tea industry executives and tourists travelling to the Himalayas in North Bengal and Sikkim. The state-of-the-art train has 16 coaches, including two for drivers. The tickets for the train will be avaialble from January 1, 2023. The ticket for the charges for EC category will be Rs 2,825 and for CC category will be Rs 1,565.

About Vande Bharat 2.0

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.