Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off Odisha’s second Vande Bharat Express train from Puri to Rourkela.
PM Modi virtually flagged off nine Vande Bharat Express Train at 12.30 PM today. These semi-high-speed trains will boost connectivity across 11 states — Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Gujarat.
The 20836/20835 Puri-Rourkela-Puri Vande Bharat Express will run six days a week except Saturday.
As per the schedule released by East Coast Railway (ECoR), the train will depart from Puri at 5 AM and reach Rourkela at 12:45 PM. In the return direction, the train will leave Rourkela at 2.10 PM and reach Puri at 9.40 PM.
The train will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur City and Jharsuguda. Odisha’s second Vande Bharat Train will cover 505 km distance in just 7.45 hours at an average speed of 63.33 kmph.
Recently, the Indian Railways had successfully conducted the trial run of the train from Puri to Talcher and then, Puri to Rourkela.
Speaking on the occasion, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “Under PM Narendra Modi’s vision, the railway sector has transformed in the past nine years. Several new facilities are being installed across railway stations.”
Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were present at the flagged-off event at Bhubaneswar Railway Station.