The Railway Ministry on Friday conducted the first full trial run of Odisha’s upcoming Vande Bharat Express that will connect Puri to Howrah in West Bengal.
As per schedule, the train left Howrah at 6.10 am and reached Puri at 12.35 pm, in less than 6 hours, with 2-minute stoppages at Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khurda each.
“It is the first trial run of Vande Bharat Express running from Howrah to Puri. We are expecting it to reach Puri station at 1:50 pm as it is running at 130KMPH. If this trial run goes successful, a decision on the same will be taken by the ministry," South East Railway ADRM Girish Kumar.
Locals have rejoiced as the Vande Bharat Express will cut down travelling time for tourists and pilgrims coming from Bengal.
“We are very happy to see the trial run of Vande Bharat Express. it will be very easy to reach Puri and Kolkata in six hours. Pilgrims and tourists will easily reach Puri, Konark" said a local Amar Panigrahi
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has requested the Centre to run the train on two more routes in the state.
In a letter to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu sought the train on two more routes - Puri-Howarh, Puri-Raipur and Bhubaneswar- Hyderabad.
Notably, the decision to introduce the train was taken after the entire stretch from Howrah to Khurda Road section was upgraded for a maximum permissible speed of 130 kmph, and given that Puri sea beach, Jagannath Temple, the World Heritage Site at Konark etc are prime tourist attractions in India.
The launch of the Vande Bharat Express in Odisha was announced by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in 2021.
Read all the Latest India News here