The Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express will run from May 15. The semi-high-speed train is likely to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Indian Railways conducted the trial run in April 2023.
Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express will be the second Vande Bharat train in West Bengal, the first one being Howrah-New Jalpaiguri. When introduced, the new train will run between Bengal’s Howrah and Odisha’s Puri.
First Vande Bharat Express was launched in 2019. Vande Bharat Express is faster with more prominent features than any other train in the country. The train was first launched for travel from the national capital Delhi to Varanasi. Now it will operate on several different routes across the whole country.
The semi-high-speed train will cover a distance of 500 km between Puri and Howrah in around 5 hours and 30 minutes. With 14 AC chair car coaches and two executive AC chair car coaches, the Vande Bharat Express train can accommodate 1,128 passengers.
The Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express is expected to have nine halts-Howrah, Haldia, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Khurda Road Junction, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri.
The BJP leaders in Odisha expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha for flagging off the Vande Bharat Express in Puri. But sources say the PM may inaugurate the train through video conferencing.
The first trial run of Vande Bharat Express was undertaken from Howrah-Puri on April 28.
