West Bengal: PM Modi virtually flags off Vande Bharat Express; here’s route, timings, ticket price of train
After performing the last rites of his beloved mother Heeraben in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30 attended pre-planned developmental works events in West Bengal via video conference. PM Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express during the event. The super fast express will connect West Bengal’s Howrah to New Jalpaiguri.
The event, which was organized in Howrah, was attended by state Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Chief Minster Mamata Banerjee and other dignitaries.
PM Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri, in West Bengal, via video conferencing. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw & other leaders present at the event in Howrah. pic.twitter.com/YFuoltdslX
— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2022
Notably, this is the country’s seventh and West Bengal’s first Vande Bharat express. The last Vande Bharat express was flagged of by the Prime Minister on December 11 between Bilaspur (Chattisgarh)-Nagpur (Maharashtra) route.
I was supposed to come to West Bengal but due to personal reasons, I could not come there. I seek apologies from the people of Bengal: PM Modi during the inauguration event of Railway projects that was attended by him virtually pic.twitter.com/FGtzYenzUH
— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2022
The tickets will be available from January 1, 2023. Here is the breakdown of the ticket charges:
- Charges for EC category will be Rs 2,825
- Charges for CC category will be Rs 1,565
How much time Vande Bharat will take?
The train will cover a distance of around 550 kms in seven and a half hours. The superfast express will run six days a week except on Wednesdays.
Timings:
The train will depart at 5.50 am from Howrah and reach NJP at 1.25 pm. From NJP, the train will depart at 3.05 pm and reach Howrah at 10.35 pm.
It is a sad day for PM Modi as his mother, Heeraben Modi took her last breath in Ahmedabad. He informed the nation about his mother’s demise early in the morning.
"When I met her on her 100th birthday, she said one thing, which is always remembered work with intelligence, live life with purity, that is, work with intelligence and live life with purity," PM Modi tweeted.
The Prime Minister is likely to lay the foundation stone of multiple railway projects. He is also expected to inaugurate Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation (DSPM - NIWAS) in West Bengal’s Kolkata. Built with an estimated cost of Rs 100 Crore, the institute will serve as an apex body in the country on water, sanitation and hygiene.
Later in the day, PM Modi is also expected to preside over the second meeting of the National Ganga Council. Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh¸ Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal will attend the crucial meeting for Jal Shakti.
First published: 30 December 2022, 13:43 IST