Vande Bharat Express trains: All electrified states now connected

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off five Vande Bharat trains, which will connect six states in the country. PM Modi launched five Vande Bharat trains - two physically and three on virtual mode – from Bhopal’s Rani Kamalapati railway station.

With the addition of these five trains, the Vande Bharat fleet is now fully integrated with those states where 100 per cent rail-electrification has been completed.

“All rail-electrified states now have at least one pair of Vande Bharat trains,” Northern Railway tweeted.

___ ___________ ___ _______ ____ _____ ____ ____ _________ __ ______#VandeBharatExpress#______________________________#________________ pic.twitter.com/F7XeqvneBQ

— Northern Railway (@RailwayNorthern) June 27, 2023

Improved connectivity to six states

The five trains that were launched by PM Modi include Khajuraho-Bhopal-Indore, Madgaon (Goa)-Mumbai, Rani Kamalapati (Bhopal)-Jabalpur, Bengaluru- Dharwad and Patna-Ranchi Vande Bharat Express trains.

These five semi-high speed trains will improve connectivity to Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bihar, Goa and Jharkhand.

It is worth noting that Bihar, Jharkhand, and Goa have been included in the list of Vande Bharat trains for the first time.

Although Bihar was already connected with the Vande Bharat fleet via Howrah and New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express, the state will now have a dedicated Vande Bharat train.

The Patna-Ranchi Vande Bharat Express will enhance connectivity between Patna and Ranchi.

The Bhopal-Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express will provide connectivity between the Mahakaushal region (Jabalpur) and Madhya Pradesh’s central region.

Meanwhile, the Khajuraho-Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat Express will benefit the passengers of Malwa region (Indore), Bundelkhand region (Khajuraho) as well as the state’s Central region.

The Madgaon (Goa)-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express will run between Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Goa's Madgaon station. This train will cut the travel time by one hour as compared to the current fastest train connecting Mumbai and Goa.

The Vande Bharat train will enable more tourists to discover Goa's scenic beauty. It will also improve connectivity across the Konkan coast. https://t.co/dSq4Y0vR9F

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 27, 2023

At the same time, the Dharwad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express will enhance connectivity between Karnataka’s state capital Bengaluru to Dharwad, Hubballi and Davangere.

The Railway Ministry aims to launch 75 Vande Bharat Express trains by August 2024 as envisioned by PM Modi. So far, 23 Vande Bharat Express trains have become operational conneting than 20 states.