PM Modi to flag off Rajasthan's first Vande Bharat Express on April 12

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday flag off Rajasthan's first Vande Bharat Express, which will run on the Ajmer-Delhi Cantonment route, via videoconference.

The train will complete the journey an hour earlier than the present fastest train running on the route, a release stated.

Modi will flag off the train at 11 am on Wednesday via video conferencing, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

The inaugural run will be between Jaipur and Delhi Cantonment. Regular services will start from Thursday and will operate between Ajmer and Delhi Cantonment, with stoppages in Jaipur, Alwar and Gurugram.

The train will cover the distance between Delhi Cantonment and Ajmer in 5 hours and 15 minutes. Shatabdi Express, the fastest train on this route at present, covers the distance in 6 hours and 15 minutes, the release stated.

The Ajmer-Delhi Cantonment Vande Bharat Express will be the world's first semi-high speed passenger train on high-rise overhead electric territory.

The train will improve the connectivity of Rajasthan's major tourist destinations, including Pushkar and Ajmer Dargah, and boost the region's socio-economic development, it said.