Sixth Vande Bharat Express Between Bilaspur-Nagpur To Be Launched On 11 December

On 11 December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the country's sixth semi-high speed Vande Bharat train, that will run between Bilaspur (Chattisgarh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra).

Southeast Central Railways (SECR) will operate the Bilaspur-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express, which will make scheduled stops in Raipur, Durg, and Gondia.

According to a railway official, the Bilaspur-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express would run six days a week and would take around five and a half hours to complete one leg of the journey.

“This train will leave Bilaspur at around 6.45am and reach Nagpur at around 12.15pm. Similarly, the train will leave Nagpur at 2pm to reach Bilaspur at 7.35pm. Currently superfast trains take around seven hours to reach Nagpur, however this train will cover the distance in around five-and-a-half hours," said a railway official, reports Hindustan Times.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set a target to make 75 Vande Bharat trains on the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. Keeping up with the PM’s vision, 75 Vande Bharat trains would be manufactured and rolled across the nation before 15 August 2023.

In order to meet the 75 target, manufacturing of  Vande Bharat trains has to be expedited further to roll out seven to eight trains ready every month.

According to the original roll out plan, five trains were scheduled to be manufactured in November while seven trains were to be ready in December.

Vande Bharat trains are capable of achieving 160-180 kmph speed, but the capacity and infrastructural limitations on the current rail network forces it to moderate the speed.

The fully air-conditioned train has sliding doors, CCTV cameras, and comfortable reclining seats. In addition, there are a slew of features for passenger comfort, including photocatalytic ultraviolet air purification system.

There is also a passenger-guard communication facility in coaches, which comes with an automatic voice recording feature.

The country's first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off in 2019 on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.