Vande Bharat Express train from Howrah-Puri commences

Puri: The first Vande Bharat Express train for Odisha for the route Howrah-Puri flagged off from Puri Railway Station. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the express train in virtual mode through videoconferencing on Thursday.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said, “India’s speed and progress can be seen whenever a Vande Bharat Train runs from one place to another.” The travel time from Puri to Howrah will now be reduced to only six and half hours, thereby saving time, giving rise to business opportunities, and providing new opportunities for the youth, he shared.

The semi high-speed train with 16 coaches will run six days a week, except Thursday. It will have stoppages at Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Khurda Road between Howrah and Puri. The train will halt for two minutes each at these stations.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw further informed that the Central government is looking into running the second ‘Vande Bharat Express’ connecting Puri, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Jaharsuguda, Talcher, Angul and also consider running the ‘Vande Metro’ services connecting cities Puri-Bhubaneswar-Cuttack in Odisha after its successful launch.