UP: PM Modi to virtually flag off Meerut-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express
Lucknow| The third Vande Bharat train passing through Moradabad division will soon be seen running on the tracks. Permission has been granted to operate it between Meerut and Lucknow. On 31 August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off this Vande Bharat Express train. The train will reach Lucknow via Hapur-Moradabad-Bareilly. It will be operated on the route of Rajyarani Express only.
After the release of information from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Railway Board, the Divisional Railway Administration has started preparing for it. Many passengers will be able to experience the first journey for free. Railways will issue passes to some selected passengers. This train with chair car bogies will have general chaircar and executive class tickets. This train will reach from Moradabad to Lucknow in five hours and Meerut before two hours. Rajyarani Express reaches Moradabad to Meerut in two and a half hours and Lucknow in five and a half hours. However, Railways has not yet decided the date of regular operation of this train. Departmental experts say that it will start running regularly within a week of the inauguration. The fare will also be announced on September 1. In Anandvihar-Lucknow Vande Bharat, the fare from Moradabad to Lucknow is Rs 1050 in chaircar and Rs 1865 in executive class.
Meerut, being closer to Delhi-NCR and the hub of many commercial operations, has been at the epicenter of the Centre’s infrastructural push. A rapid rail corridor between Meerut and Ghaziabad has already been welcomed by numerous city-based businessmen. The roll-out of another Vande Bharat train will give a major fillip to Railway services in UP, as this will take the existing fleet of express trains to 11 in number.
The ten Vande Bharat trains already operational in UP include Patna-Gomtinagar, Varanasi-Delhi, Varanasi-Ranchi, Lucknow, Dehradun, Anand Vihar-Ayodhya, Anand Vihar-Dehradun, Gorakhpur-Prayagraj and Hazrat Nizamuddin-Habibganj. Apart from Meerut-Lucknow, two more Vande Bharat trains will also be flagged by PM Modi on Saturday, which include Chennai-Nagercoil and Bengaluru-Madurai Vande Bharat express trains. Notably, the Vande Bharat Express trains are the fleet of indigenously-developed and passenger-friendly trains, aimed at enhancing travelers’ comfort and convenience. The state-of-the art trains are equipped with modern amenities and provide passengers with a faster and comfortable travel experience. These trains have ‘revolutionized’ the travelling experience in India in the last few years. The fleet of Vande Bharat trains has already crossed the 50 mark and there are ambitious plans to launch Vande Bharat sleeper, as well as Vande Bharat Metro trains, in the near future.
