New Delhi, Aug 29 (WISHAVWARTA/IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to inaugurate the medium-distance superfast Vande Bharat Express train in Uttar Pradesh (UP) on August 31, connecting Lucknow and Meerut. The Meerut-Lucknow Vande Bharat train will be virtually flagged off by the Prime Minister on Saturday, said Railway officials on Thursday. It will cover two prominent cities along the way, including Moradabad and Bareilly. On its inaugural run, the train will leave Meerut City at 6.35 A.M. and reach Lucknow at around 1:45 P.M. The seven-hour-long journey will have two five-minute halts at Moradabad and Bareilly junctions. Meerut, being closer to Delhi-NCR and the hub of many commercial operations, has been at the epicenter of the Centre’s infrastructural push. A rapid rail corridor between Meerut and Ghaziabad has already been welcomed by numerous city-based businessmen. The roll-out of another Vande Bharat train will give a major fillip to Railway services in UP, as this will take the existing fleet of express trains to 11 in number. The ten Vande Bharat trains already operational in UP include Patna-Gomtinagar, Varanasi-Delhi, Varanasi-Ranchi, Lucknow, Dehradun, Anand Vihar-Ayodhya, Anand Vihar-Dehradun, Gorakhpur-Prayagraj and Hazrat Nizamuddin-Habibganj. Apart from Meerut-Lucknow, two more Vande Bharat trains will also be flagged by PM Modi on Saturday, which include Chennai-Nagercoil and Bengaluru-Madurai Vande Bharat express trains. Notably, the Vande Bharat Express trains are the fleet of indigenously-developed and passenger-friendly trains, aimed at enhancing travellers’ comfort and convenience. The state-of-the art trains are equipped with modern amenities and provide passengers with a faster and comfortable travel experience. These trains have ‘revolutionised’ the travelling experience in India in the last few years. The fleet of Vande Bharat trains has already crossed the 50 mark and there are ambitious plans to launch Vande Bharat sleeper, as well as Vande Bharat Metro trains, in the near future. –IANS mr/rad
