Aiming at providing faster connectivity to Northeast region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Assam’s first semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express on today at 12 noon via video conferencing.
According to the Railways, the state-of-the-art Vande Bharat Express will provide people of the region the means to travel with speed and comfort. It will also boost tourism in the region.
Connecting Guwahati with New Jalpaiguri, the train will help save about an hour of journey time, when compared with the current fastest train connecting the two places. Vande Bharat will cover the journey in 5 hours 30 minutes, while the current fastest train takes 6 hours 30 minutes to cover the same journey.
Besides launching the Vande Bharat train, the Prime Minister will dedicate 182 route km of newly electrified sections. This will help provide pollution free transportation with trains running at higher speed and reduced running time of trains.
It will also open the doors for trains running on electric traction to enter Meghalaya.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate a newly constructed DEMU/MEMU shed at Lumding in Assam. This new facility will be helpful for maintaining DEMU rakes operating in this region, leading to better operational feasibility.