PM Modi to flag off India’s first ‘Vande Metro’ service in Gujarat

New Delhi| Prime Minister Narendra Modi to flag off the country’s first Vande Metro service on Monday. This train will run between Bhuj and Ahmedabad. After taking oath as Prime Minister for the third consecutive time, PM Modi is making his first visit to his home state. Apart from the country’s first Vande Metro service, the PM will flag off many other Vande Bharat trains between Bhuj and Ahmedabad on Monday.

PM Modi will launch the second phase of the metro rail service connecting Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and ride the metro train. The Vande Bharat train will be flagged off by the Prime Minister. These will be operated on various routes including Kolhapur-Pune, Pune-Hubli, Nagpur-Secunderabad, Agra Cantt to Banaras and Durg to Visakhapatnam. Apart from this, PM Modi will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of several development projects worth more than Rs 8,000 crore in Ahmedabad.

‘Vande Metro’ train will leave from Bhuj and reach Ahmedabad covering a distance of 359 km in 5.45 hours. Its regular service for passengers will start from Ahmedabad from 17th September and the fare per passenger will be Rs 455 for the entire journey. ‘‘Where other metro trains cover only short distances, Vande Metro trains will connect peripheral cities from the center of the city”, the ministry said in its statement.

Vande Metro runs at a maximum speed of 110 km per hour, the ministry said. It will make the journey faster and improve efficiency. The ministry said that Vande Metro train has been equipped with advanced protection system like anti-collision ‘Kavach’. The Railway Ministry said that the Vande Metro train will have 12 coaches, with seating for 1,150 passengers.