PM Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express for Kerala

Tags: State News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25th April flagged off Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod at Thiruvananthapuram Central Station.

An overview of the news

• The train will cover 11 districts of Kerala. Vande Bharat train between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod will cover a distance of approximately 588 kms in approximately eight hours.

• It will have stoppages at Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Thrissur, Shoranur, Kozhikode and Kannur.

• The Vande Bharat Express will be about an hour faster than the Rajdhani running on the same route.

• Prime Minister Modi dedicated to the nation various projects worth more than three thousand two hundred crore rupees.

• He also dedicated the Kochi Water Metro to the nation.

• The project connects ten islands around Kochi through battery operated electric hybrid boats for seamless connectivity with Kochi city.

• He also laid the foundation stone of Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram.

• The Digital Science Park is envisaged as a premier research facility for developing digital products and services by industry and business units in collaboration with academia.

About Vande Bharat Express Train

• The first Vande Bharat Express was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 February 2019.

• These trains have a self-propelled engine which can save diesel and reduce electricity usage by up to 30%.

• The first Vande Bharat Express was manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.

• It was manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ programme, at a cost of about Rs 100 crore.

• These trains can achieve a maximum speed of 160 kmph.

• In the Union Budget for 2022-2023 the government has proposed the development and manufacture of 400 new Vande Bharat trains in the next three years.