BHUBANESWAR: One more Vande Bharat Express, a semi-high-speed train, will run in the state from September 15. It will run between Tatanagar Junction in Jharkhand and Berhampur in Odisha via Bhubaneswar and Kendujhargarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off this train from Tatanagar.
Two trial runs of this train will be carried out on Sunday and Tuesday before its flagging off by the PM on September 15.The first trial run will be held between Tatanagar and Berhampur, while the second trial run will be held between Tatanagar and Patna.
According to official sources, this train will start from Tatanagar at 5.20 am and reach Berhampur at 2.30 pm. The train will take nine hours and ten minutes to cross 586 km from Tatanagar to Berhampur. The return train will leave Berhampur at 3 pm and arrive at Tatanagar at 11.55 pm on the same day.
Except for Tuesday, the train will run six days a week. Primary maintenance will be done at Tatanagar. For watering purposes, 15 minutes of halt time has been given at Khurda Road station. The Railways has not released detailed information regarding the rate chart.
The train will have stoppages at Chaibasa, Dangoaposi, Banspani, Nayagarh, Kendujhargarh, Harichandanpur, Jakhapura, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, and Balugaon between Tatanagar and Berhampur.
Presently, three Vande Bharat trains are running in Odisha. While two are connecting Puri with Howrah and Rourkela, the third one is running from Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam via Berhampur.
The Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express was introduced on March 17. It runs six days a week except Monday. On September 24 last year, the Puri-Rourkela Vande Bharat Express was flagged off by Modi through videoconferencing from New Delhi. It was the second Vande Bharat train in Odisha. It connects Western Odisha with the coastal region of the state.
The Puri-Rourkela Vande Bharat Exp (20836/20835) runs six days a week except Saturday. Maintenance of the train is being done at Puri. It covers the distance of 505 km in 7 hours and 45 minutes from Puri to Rourkela.
On May 18 last year, Modi flagged off the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express (22896/22895). It runs six days a week except Thursday. It takes 6 hours and 40 minutes to reach Howrah from Puri.