Two new Vande Bharat trains start rolling in Odisha

Berhampur: Two new Vande Bharat Express trains started their journey from Brahmapur and Rourkela on Sunday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off six such trains in Jharkhand.The two trains flagged off from Odisha are Rourkela-Howrah and Brahmapur-Tatanagar.

Odisha Governor Raghubar Das and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi were present at Rourkela and Brahmapur railway stations when the Prime Minister flagged off the six Vande Bharat Express trains. The Chief Minister said the new Vande Bharat train will connect Odisha’s silk city Brahmapur to India’s steel city Tatanagar.

“This is the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we are getting these superfast trains in Odisha. This shows his love for Odisha and our country. We promise new Vande Bharat trains that will offer faster connectivity, safe journey and a range of passenger amenities,” Majhi said. The double-engine government at the Centre and the State would speed up the development of Odisha, he said. Introduction of these Vande Bharat trains will benefit regular travellers, professionals, businessmen and students, Majhi added.

The Chief Minister said the Central government has earmarked Rs 1-lakh crore for the Railway infrastructure development in Odisha. An amount of Rs 10,586 crore has been estimated for the development of Railways in Odisha in the Union Budget 2024-25. Modernisation and expansion work for 52 railway stations in Odisha are being carried out under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

An amount of Rs 20,000 crore has been sanctioned for the construction of eight railway lines including Gunupur-Theruvali, Junagarh-Nabarangpur, Badampahad- Kendujhargarh, Bangiriposhi-Gorumahishani,Bamara-Chakulia, Malkangiri-Pandurangapuram,Bargarh Road-Nuapada and Sardega-Bhalumunda.

The distance from Brahmapur to Tata is 586 km and the journey will take just nine hours and five minutes for the semi high-speed Vande Bharat Express train. It will cover Balugaon, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jahkpura, Sukina Road, Harichandrapur, Kendujhargarh, Banshpani, Dangoaposi, Chaibasa and Rajkharsawan from Brahmapur to Tata.

About 150 students of East Coast Railway (ECoR) Mixed Higher Secondary School, Khurda, boarded the train to take a free ride to Khurda Junction from Brahmapur. “Everything is clean on the train. We are excited,” they said.

Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallick, Berhampur MP Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi, Aska MP Anita Subhadarshini, MLAs Sidhant Mohapatra (Digapahandi), K Anil Kumar (Berhampur), Krushna Chandra Nayak (Chhatrapur), Manoranjan Dyan Samantray (Chikiti), Purna Chandra Sethi (Khallikote) and Saroj Kumar Padhi (Aska) were among others present at Platform No. 4.

“The train has been equipped with all the modern amenities and facilities for the passengers. Moreover, all the glitches that were found in previous Vande Bharat trains have been rectified to enhance the comfort of passengers. In a few years, we will reach a peak point of top-class trains,” said the loco pilot.

With the inauguration of two new trains, five Vande Bharat trains are running through Odisha.