PM Modi flags off Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharta Express Train in Gujarat

Tags: State News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 September flagged off the newly upgraded Vande Bharat Express, a semi high-speed train that will connect Gandhinagar and Mumbai.

Important facts

• This is the third train of its kind.

• It is equipped with 'Kavach' technology (Train Collision Avoidance System), an automatic safety system that prevents two trains from colliding.

• Passengers travelling from Mumbai to Ahmedabad in executive chair car will be charged Rs 2,505 as fare, while the chair car fare will be Rs 1,385.

• It will operate six days a week except Sundays. 

• PM also inaugurated the first phase of the ambitious Ahmedabad metro project.

About Vande Bharat Express Train

• It is a 16 coach self propelled train.

• The train reaches 160 kmph speed in just 140 seconds.

• The train is equipped with touch-free facilities with bio-vacuum toilets and special toilets for differently-abled passengers on-board facilities.

• The first Vande Bharat was manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, as part of the ‘Make in India’ programme, at a cost of about Rs 100 crore.

• The first such train runs on the New Delhi-Varanasi route, while the second one runs on the New Delhi-Vaishno Devi Katra route.

• In the Union Budget for 2022-2023, the Finance Minister has proposed the development and construction of 400 new Vande Bharat trains over the next three years.