Two new Vande Bharat Express trains launched from Mumbai, know all about

Mumbai, India (Urban Transport News): Mumbaikars gets two new state-of-the-art semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express trains. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today flagged off two Vande Bharat Express trains from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai. The first train will run between Mumbai and Solapur while other Train will run between Mumbai and Sainagar Shirdi. This is an important step towards fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vision of building better, efficient and passenger friendly transport infrastructure for New India.

Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Train

Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Train will be the 9th Vande Bharat Train in the country. The new world class train will improve connectivity between Mumbai and Solapur and will also facilitate travel to important pilgrimage centres like Siddheshwar in Solapur, Akkalkot, Tuljapur, Pandharpur near Solapur and Alandi near Pune. It will cover 455 km in 6 hours 30 minutes. The halt stations will be Mumbai, Dadar, Kalyan, Pune, Kurduwadi and Solapur.

Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Train

Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Train will be the 10th Vande Bharat Train in the country. It will also improve connectivity of important pilgrimage centres in Maharashtra like Nashik, Trimbakeshwar, Sainagar Shirdi and Shani Singanapur. It will cover 343 km in 5 hours 20 minutes. There will be four halt stations at Mumbai, Thane, Nashik Road and Shirdi.

To ease road traffic congestion in Mumbai and streamline movement of vehicles, Prime Minister has also dedicated the Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR) and Kurar underpass. The newly constructed elevated corridor from Kurla to Vakola and from MTNL Junction, BKC to LBS Flyover at Kurla will enhance much needed East West connectivity in the city. These arms connect the Western Express highway to Eastern Express highway thereby connecting eastern and western suburbs efficiently.

The Kurar underpass is crucial to ease traffic on Western Express Highway (WEH) and connecting Malad and Kurar sides of WEH. It allows people to cross the road with ease and also vehicles to move without having to get into the heavy traffic on WEH.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it is a huge day for Railways in India, especially for advanced connectivity in Maharashtra as this is the first time that two Vande Bharat trains have been flagged off on the same day. He underlined that these Vande Bharat trains will connect economic centers such as Mumbai and Pune to centers of faith, thereby benefiting those traveling for college, office, business, pilgrimage and agricultural purposes. He said that traveling to sacred places like Shirdi, Nasik, Trimbakeshwar, and Panchvati will be made easier with the new Vande Bharat trains which will give a boost to tourism as well as pilgrimage. “The pilgrimages of Pandharpur, Solapur, Akkalkot and Tuljapur will also be made more accessible with the Solapur Vande Bharat Express”, he said.

The Prime Minister said that the Vande Bharat train is a grand picture of modern India. “It is a reflection of India's speed and scale.” Commenting on the speed of the launch of Vande Bharat Trains, the Prime Minister informed that so far, 10 Vande Bharat trains have started operating connecting 108 districts of 17 states of the country. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that many projects were launched today that will enhance the ease of living.  He said that the elevated road will connect eastern and western suburban areas and the underpass, he said, is significant.

The Prime Minister reiterated the need for improving public transport for 21st-century India as it will lead to massive ease of living for the citizens. This thinking, he pointed out, is behind the launch of modern trains, the expansion of the Metro, and new airports and ports. The Budget also strengthens this thinking as for the first time, 10 lakh crore were allocated exclusively for infrastructure development. In this railway's share is 2.5 lakh crore, he added. The Prime Minister said that the Rail Budget for Maharashtra also witnessed an unprecedented rise and expressed the hope that with the efforts of the double-engine government, connectivity in Maharashtra will move ahead rapidly. 

The latest version of Vande Bharat trains can catch the speed of 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just 52 seconds. Along with this, all the coaches in this train have been kept fully air-conditioned. Along with this, all the doors of the train are fully automatic. GPS system and WiFi is also installed in the train. At the same time, in the executive class of the train, there are 360-degree rotating chairs for the passengers.

All the Vande Bharat Trains are being developed in Indian Railways' Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. Former General Manager of ICF Chennai Sudhansu Mani is known as innovator of Vande Bharat trains in India.