Guwahati: The northeastern region of the country will get its first Vande Bharat Express on Monday as the maiden journey of the first semi-high-speed train from Assam will be virtually flagged off from Guwahati by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said on Sunday.
The Vande Bharat Express will run between Guwahati (Assam) and New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal) stations.
“The train will pass through Kamrup Metropolitan, Kamrup Rural, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Kokrajhar districts of Assam, and Alipurduar, New Coochbehar and Jalpaiguri districts of West Bengal. People in these areas will be able to reap the benefit of modern rail travel comfortably,” Sabysachai De, Chief Public Relation Officer of Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) said.
The NFR in a statement said “with the arrival of Vande Bharat Express in Assam, people of Northeast, Assam in particular will be able to experience travelling by rail with speed and comfort”.
As the semi-high speed train comprises all the latest amenities, the difference can be well experienced by the people of the Northeast during travel.
According to the railway authority, the existing rail travel time on the speediest train on the New Jalpaiguri-Guwahati section will be reduced by about an hour. Sectors like trade, tourism and travel of this region will benefit immensely.
The inaugural run of Vande Bharat Express will commence from Guwahati at 12 noon on Tuesday and will reach New Jalpaiguri at 6 p.m. Regular services of the train will start from Wednesday.
De said: “In its one-way journey, the Vande Bharat Express will cover a distance of 411 km in 5 hours and 30 minutes. The composition of the train will be of eight coaches with a seating capacity of 530 people.”
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the 91.03 km long New Bongaigaon- Dudhnoi-Mendipathar newly electrified section.
With the electrification of this section, freight and passenger carrying trains with electric traction can now enter Meghalaya from any parts of our country.
The Guwahati-Chaparmukh 91 km newly electrified section is also going to be launched by the Prime Minister.
Besides, a new DEMU/MEMU shed that has been constructed recently at Lumding will also be inaugurated by Nardendra Modi.
“As Lumding is the gateway to the hilly northeastern states like Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and other parts of Assam, this new facility will be helpful for maintaining DEMU rakes operating in this region, leading to better operational feasibility and passenger amenity,” De said.
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