Bhubaneswar: The 17th Vande Bharat Express will start to run on Puri-Howrah route from May 20 after being flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 12.53 pm on Thursday.
The semi high speed train, which has a maximum speed of 160-180kmh, will run at a speed of 75-78kmh on the route, a bit faster than the Shatabdi Express, and will save over an hour of your time. The average speed of Shatabdi Express is 66.2 km.
A comparison between Vande Bharat Express & Shatabdi Express
>> Vande Bharat Express will run 6 days a week, except Thursdays, while the service of Shatabdi Express is available on all days
>> Vande Bharat will cover a distance of 499 kilometres in 6 hours 25 minutes with 7 stops – Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khurda Road – of 2 minutes each. Shatabdi Express covers a distance of 502 km in 7 hours 40 minutes with 6 stoppages – Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
>> 12277 Howrah-Puri Shatabdi leaves Howrah Jn at 2.25 pm and arrives at Puri station at 10.05 pm while the new Vande Bharat Express, numbered 22895, will depart from Howrah at 6.10 am and arrive at Puri at 12.35 pm.
In the opposite direction, 12278 Shatabdi departs from Puri at 5.45 am and reaches Howrah at 1.40 pm, taking almost 8 hours. 22896 Vande Bharat will depart from Puri at 1.50 pm and reach Howrah at 8.30 pm.
>> Vande Bharat costs Rs 315 more than Shatabdi. Fare for AC chair car is Rs 1,265 in Vande Bharat and Rs 950 in Shatabdi. Catering charge is Rs 162 for AC chair car in Vande Bharat and can be deducted if one opts for no meal. Shatabdi fare in executive class is 1,850, Vande Bharat’s Rs 2,420.
Also Read: Odisha 1st Vande Bharat To Be Flagged Off At 12.53PM; Check Train Schedule, Ticket Price
Notably, flight tickets between Bhubaneswar and Kolkata is starting around Rs 3,500 in the month of June.
PM @narendramodi Ji to flag off Odisha – West Bengal #VandeBharat tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/fkFXax5mYG
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) May 17, 2023
