New Delhi: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is flagging off nine Vande Bharat trains today via video conferencing.

These new Vande Bharat trains are a step towards realising Prime Minister’s vision of improving connectivity across the country and providing world class facilities to rail passengers. The new trains that will be flagged off are:

1. 1. Udaipur – Jaipur Vande Bharat Express
2. 2. Tirunelveli-Madurai- Chennai Vande Bharat Express
3. 3. Hyderabad –Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express
4. 4. Vijayawada – Chennai (via Renigunta) Vande Bharat Express
5. 5. Patna – Howrah Vande Bharat Express
6. 6. Kasaragod – Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express
7. 7. Rourkela – Bhubaneswar – Puri  Vande Bharat Express
8. 8. Ranchi – Howrah  Vande Bharat Express
9. 9. Jamnagar-Ahmedabad  Vande Bharat Express

These nine trains will boost connectivity across eleven states namely Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Gujarat.

These Vande Bharat trains will be the fastest train along the routes of their operation and will help save considerable time of the passengers. As compared to the current fastest train along the route, Rourkela- Bhubaneswar – Puri  Vande Bharat Express and Kasaragod – Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express will be faster by about 3 hours; Hyderabad – Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express by more than 2.5 hours; Tirunelveli-Madurai- Chennai Vande Bharat Express by more than 2 hours; Ranchi – Howrah  Vande Bharat Express,  Patna – Howrah Vande Bharat Express and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express by about 1 hour; and Udaipur – Jaipur Vande Bharat Express by about half an hour.

In line with the Prime Minister’s vision to improve connectivity of important religious places across the country, Rourkela- Bhubaneswar – Puri  Vande Bharat Express and Tirunelveli-Madurai- Chennai Vande Bharat Express will connect important religious towns of Puri and Madurai. Also, the Vijayawada – Chennai Vande Bharat Express will operate via the Renigunta route and will provide connectivity to Tirupati Pilgrimage centre.

The introduction of these Vande Bharat trains will herald a new standard of rail service in the country. These trains, equipped with world class amenities and advanced safety features, including Kavach technology, will be a key step towards providing modern, speedy and comfortable means of travel to common people, professionals, businessmen, student community and tourists.