Hummingbird News Desk
KOLKATA, 27 DEC: A trial run of Vande Bharat Express in West Bengal was conducted by the Eastern Railway between Howrah Station and New Jalpaiguri Railway Station on Monday, a day after arriving in the state from Chennai. The premium train is the first to operate in Eastern India and is likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 December from Howrah Station.
A state-of-the-art rake from Integral Coach Factory in Chennai arrived in the city last night. Apart from other kinds of preparations for the inauguration, a test run of the rake was conducted. The train started at around 5.55 am from platform number 22 of Howrah Station for New Jalpaiguri. A team of around 10 railway staff specially trained to operate the train has also been selected and they have arrived in the city, according to sources. A special yard has been set up for the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat train.
As informed by sources in the Railways, the train has 16 coaches and has an intelligent braking system that facilitates enhanced acceleration and deceleration. The coaches of the train feature GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, automatic doors and can accommodate 1,128 passengers. The semi-high speed train is capable of running at a speed of 180km/hr and has on board Wi-Fi system and comfortable seats.
The Vande Bharat will be the second express train between New Jalpaiguri and Kolkata after the Shatabdi Express.
The train will leave the Howrah station at 5:55 am and reach New Jalpaiguri at 1.55 pm. After a one-hour stopover, it will leave the New Jalpaiguri station at 2.50 pm and reach Howrah at 10:50 pm. The Shatabdi Express takes around 8 hours and 20 minutes to complete the journey from Howrah to New Jalpaiguri.
According to sources, the train, for now, is to be operated at a lower speed than 180/km per hour. The executive class of the coach features rotating chairs. Notably, Vande Bharat Express trains are currently being run on six routes in the country ~ Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Katra, GandhinagarMumbai, New Delhi-Andaura, and Chennai-Mysuru.
Tags: #VandeBharatExpressTrain #Howrah #Jalpaiguri #NarendraModi
