PM Modi to flag off two Vande Bharat Express trains from Gorakhpur today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off two Vande Bharat Express trains in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh on Friday, increasing the number of semi-high speed trains in the country to 25.

According to an official statement, the Prime Minister will flag off Gorakhpur - Lucknow Vande Bharat Express and Jodhpur - Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) Vande Bharat Express trains.

"PM Narendra Modi is set to launch 2 more Vande Bharat Express from Gorakhpur, increasing the fleet to 25. Marked by its rapid turnaround time, Vande Bharat is defining a new era of efficient rail travel. Get onboard, as we witness history being made with every new route," tweeted an official handle of the Central Government.

As per the schedule, PM Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur on July 7 and flag off two Vande Bharat Express trains--Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express and Jodhpur-Sabarmati Vande Bharat Express.

Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express will connect the city of Baba Gorakhnath to the city of Lord Ram, Ayodhya and the city of Nawabs, Lucknow. Also, tourist places like Kushinagar, Siddharthnagar Sant Kabir Nagar, a town of the 15th-century mystic poet 'Kabir', will benefit from improved connectivity.

The forthcoming blue-and-white Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train that would create a crucial link between the cities of Gorakhpur, also known as Baba Gorakhnath's city, and Lucknow, also known as the city of Nawabs.

The state's first miniature version of the semi-high-speed train will have eight coaches, including seven with air conditioning and one with an executive chair car.

The Jodhpur-Sabarmati Vande Bharat Express will improve the connectivity between Rajputana and Ahmedabad, a City of Mahatma Gandhi. The train will connect Pali, Abu Road, Palanpur and Mehsana cities on the route.

This will benefit the important tourist sites in the historic cities of Jodhpur and Ahmedabad.

According to a press release by the Western Railway (WR), the semi-high-speed train would leave Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) at 4:45 pm and arrive in Jodhpur at 10:55 pm the same day. The train will leave Jodhpur at 05:55 am and arrive in Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) at 12:05 pm on the same day for the return trip.

It is pertinent to note that the Vande Bharat Express, India's semi-high-speed train set, now offers its services in all rail-electrified states across the country. With 46 operational services, the Vande Bharat Express has revolutionized rail travel, providing state-of-the-art amenities and reducing travel time for passengers. After the addition of these two new trains on July 7, the operational service of Vande Bharat Express will achieve a significant milestone of 50 services.

The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off on February 15, 2019, by the Prime Minister, running between New Delhi and Varanasi. Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the train set symbolizes the 'Make-In-India' initiative and showcases India's engineering prowess.

The project to manufacture indigenous semi-high-speed train sets began in mid-2017, and within 18 months, the ICF Chennai completed Train-18. India's first semi-high-speed train was renamed Vande Bharat Express in January 2019 to emphasize its made-in-India status. The train achieved a maximum speed of 180 kmph on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section.