IN PHOTOS: PM Modi inaugurates Vande Bharat Express, unveils Kempegowda statue at KIA

India's first Vande Bharat Express train, connecting Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, November 11, 2022, on the occasion of Kanaka Dasa Jayanti. The train is the first semi-high-speed train in the South and the fifth in the country. He also launched the 'Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan' train, inaugurated the Terminal-2 of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), and unveiled the 108-feet tall statue of the founder of Bengaluru, 'Nadaprabhu' Kempegowda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off south India's first Vande Bharat Express train, connecting Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru, at KSR railway station in Bengaluru, on November 11, 2022. He also launched the 'Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan' train, inaugu

Updated on:

11 Nov 2022, 1:28 pm

2 min read

The 'Vande Bharat' train is the first semi-high speed train in the South and fifth in the country. Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, a production unit of the railways, developed the train which has an intelligent braking system enabling better acceleration and deceleration. (Photo | PTI)

The train can travel at a speed of 160 km per hour. 'If run at full tilt capacity, the train can touch Chennai from Bengaluru in just three hours,' a railway official told PTI. All the coaches are equipped with automatic doors, GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard hotspot Wi-Fi for entertainment purposes, and comfortable seats. The executive class has rotating chairs. (Photo | PTI)

Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Pralhad Joshi, and Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and CM Basavaraj Bommai are also seen here as Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off south India's first Vande Bharat Express train, connecting Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru, at KSR railway station in Bengaluru, on November 11, 2022. (Photo | PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the flag-off of the Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshana Train, at KSR railway station in Bengaluru. Karnataka is the first state to take up this train under the Bharat Gaurav scheme in which the Government of Karnataka and the Ministry of Railways are working together to send pilgrims from Karnataka to Kashi. (Photo | PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai along with Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi upon his arrival in Bengaluru, on November 11, 2022. (Photo | PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and CM Basavaraj Bommai looks at a model of the newly-inaugurated Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport, in Bengaluru, on November 11, 2022. (Photo | PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage to saint Kanaka Dasa on the occasion of Kanaka Dasa Jayanti, in Bengaluru, on November 11, 2022. (Photo | PTI)

Workers near the 108 feet statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. (Photo | PTI)

Workers stand at the pedestal of the 108 feet statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. (Photo | PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays floral tribute to Maharishi Valmiki, in Bengaluru, on November 11, 2022. (Photo | PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being presented a 'peta' by Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai during a public meeting after the inauguration of Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport and unveiling of 108 feet-tall bronze statue of Nadaprabhau Kempegowda, called 'Statue of Prosperity', in Bengaluru, on November 11, 2022. (Photo | Shashidhar Byrappa, EPS)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being presented a memento during a public meeting after the inauguration of Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport and unveiling of 108 feet-tall bronze statue of Nadaprabhau Kempegowda, called 'Statue of Prosperity', in Bengaluru. Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai is also seen. (Photo | Shashidhar Byrappa, EPS)

The 108 feet statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on November 11, 2022. (Photo | PTI)

The statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru weighs 218 tonnes (98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel). (Photo | PTI)