BHUBANESWAR: Odisha's first Vande Bharat Express will be flagged off at Puri railway station on May 18. Indian Railways had initially scheduled the inaugural run on May 15. Sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the train through virtual mode from New Delhi while Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will remain present at Puri railway station. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is also likely to attend the event.
“The inaugural run of the Vande Bharat Express, which was scheduled to be flagged off at Puri on May 15, has been rescheduled to May 18. Though the guest list is yet to be finalised, the train will be flagged off by the PM,” sources added.Once introduced, the semi high-speed train will run between Puri and Howrah. This will be the second Vande Bharat Express for West Bengal after the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri route.
Elaborate arrangements for the event are underway. As the train will be flagged off at around 12 noon, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has asked all branch officers to send the nominated staff from each department to reach Puri railway station by 10 am to participate in the programme.
Even as the notification detailing the timing, stoppage and composition of the train is yet to be issued, sources said, the train will leave Puri at 2 pm and reach Howrah at 7.30 pm.On the return journey, the train will leave Howrah at 5:50 am and arrive at Puri at 11:20 pm. The train will travel 500 km in five hours and 30 minutes. Shatabdi Express is the fastest train on this route and it takes around seven hours 35 minutes to cover the same distance.
The train is likely to have stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur/Haldia. The primary maintenance of the train will be done at Santragachi under South Eastern Railway (SER).
The tentative fare to travel from Puri to Howrah will be Rs 1,590 (including Rs 308 for food) for chair car and Rs 2,815 (including Rs 369 for food) for executive class. The passengers, however, can opt for ‘no food’ and the catering charges will not be included in the fare.The Odisha government has demanded Vande Bharat Express in two more routes in the state, to which the Ministry of Railways is yet to respond.