Vande Bharat Express Trains: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the second Vande Bharat Express train running between Varanasi and New Delhi today i.e. on 18 December. The train will be flagged off at around 2:15 pm. Today, the inaugural run from Varanasi to New Delhi, however, the regular operation of the Vande Bharat Express is scheduled to commence on December 20, 2023.
Here are 10 things to know about the 2nd Vande Bharat Express on Varanasi-New Delhi route:
1. As per the statement issued by the northern Railway, this 2nd Vande Bharat train on the Varanasi-Delhi route will be in saffron colour and also has multiple new features.
2. As per the Northern Railways, "The train has superior passenger amenities such as onboard Wi-Fi infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, plush interiors, bio-vacuum toilets with touch-free conveniences, diffused LED lighting, charging points beneath every seat, individual touch-based reading lights and concealed roller blinds."
3. Additionally, it also has “better heat ventilation and air-conditioning system with UV lamp for germ-free supply of air. The intelligent air-conditioning system adjusts the cooling according to the climate conditions/occupancy."
4. Speaking of the timing of the trains, the train will start 6:00 am from Varanasi to reach New Delhi at 2:05 pm. The train will depart for Varanasi after 55 minutes at 3:00 pm and reach New Delhi at 11:05 pm.
5. The train will run six days a week except for Tuesdays.
6. Speaking of the train routes, departing from Varanasi at 6:00 am, the train will reach Prayagraj at 07:34 am, Kanpur Central at 09:30 am and finally, New Delhi at 2:05 pm. The return journey will see the train departing from New Delhi at 3:00 pm, reaching Kanpur Central at 7:12 pm, Prayagraj at 9:15 pm and concluding its journey in Varanasi at 11:05 pm.
7. The first Vande Bharat train 22436 on this route currently runs between New Delhi and Varanasi, starts from Delhi at 6:00 am and reaches its destination station at 2:00 pm while it departs for New Delhi at 3:00 pm and reaches the destination at 11:00 pm. This train runs six days a week except for Thursday.
8. As per The Hindu report, this second train is being started over high demand from passengers.
9. The first saffron-grey Vande Bharat train was launched on 24 September between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram route in Kerala. It was one of the nine Vande Bharat trains that the prime minister flagged off on September 24 in a video conference.
10. In a recent interaction with a media person, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw dismissed the notion of any politics behind launching orange or saffron-coloured Vande Bharat trains, saying the choice of colours was informed by scientific thought. "For human eyes, two colours are supposed to be the most visible -- yellow and orange. In Europe, almost 80 per cent of trains have either orange or a combination of yellow and orange," Vaishnaw had said as quoted by the news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, on 8 December, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said that the country would have 4,500 Vande Bharat trains running across India by 2047. Recently, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to Rajya Sabha also informed that more than 12,000 newly-manufactured train coaches have digital display boards containing information such as forthcoming station, destination, and running status, among others.
