Vande Bharat Exp chugs in, locals rush for a glimpse
tnn | Feb 16, 2019, 05:00 IST
Kanpur: The country’s first semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express (T-18), which was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday from the New Delhi railway station, reached Kanpur Central railway station in the afternoon hours. Besides railway minister Piyush Goyal, local MP Murli Manohar Joshi and members of the Railway Board were also on board the train on its inaugural journey.
The train will run on a stretch between the national capital and Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via Kanpur and Allahabad.
Speaking on the occasion, railway minister Piyush Goel said, “Vande Bharat is a ‘Make in India’ intiative, and nearly 30 tenders have been floated for production of this train. In future, Vande Bharat count can escalates upto 130. We will see if the coaches of the train can be manufactured in Rae Bareli Coach Factory.”
The railway minister and others obseved a two-minute silence to condole the killings of CRPF jawans in the terrorist attack in Pulwama.
The train halted at Kanpur Central station for nearly 40 minutes for visitors, said a railway official. “As expected, the people in large numbers thronged the railway station to get a glimpse of the train,” said CPRO (NCR) Gaurav Krishna Bansal. The train will take only four hours to reach Kanpur Central from Delhi, he said and added no platform ticket was charged from the visitors.
Another senior railway official said that the tickets of the first commercial run of Vande Bharat Express for February 17 have been completely sold out. Train-18 is an Indian semi-high speed intercity electric multiple unit. It was designed and built by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative over a span of 18 months. Acknowledging its ‘Made in India’ status, it was renamed as ‘Vande Bharat Express’ on January 27. The train’s exterior appearance is like that of a bullet train, with an aerodynamic narrowing at its each end.
The passengers, meanwhile, waiting for other trains at Kanpur Central, scrambled to witness Vande Bharat Express. UP cabinet minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi and mayor Pramila Pandey were also present on the occasion.
The train will run on a stretch between the national capital and Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via Kanpur and Allahabad.
Speaking on the occasion, railway minister Piyush Goel said, “Vande Bharat is a ‘Make in India’ intiative, and nearly 30 tenders have been floated for production of this train. In future, Vande Bharat count can escalates upto 130. We will see if the coaches of the train can be manufactured in Rae Bareli Coach Factory.”
The railway minister and others obseved a two-minute silence to condole the killings of CRPF jawans in the terrorist attack in Pulwama.
The train halted at Kanpur Central station for nearly 40 minutes for visitors, said a railway official. “As expected, the people in large numbers thronged the railway station to get a glimpse of the train,” said CPRO (NCR) Gaurav Krishna Bansal. The train will take only four hours to reach Kanpur Central from Delhi, he said and added no platform ticket was charged from the visitors.
Another senior railway official said that the tickets of the first commercial run of Vande Bharat Express for February 17 have been completely sold out. Train-18 is an Indian semi-high speed intercity electric multiple unit. It was designed and built by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative over a span of 18 months. Acknowledging its ‘Made in India’ status, it was renamed as ‘Vande Bharat Express’ on January 27. The train’s exterior appearance is like that of a bullet train, with an aerodynamic narrowing at its each end.
The passengers, meanwhile, waiting for other trains at Kanpur Central, scrambled to witness Vande Bharat Express. UP cabinet minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi and mayor Pramila Pandey were also present on the occasion.
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