Bhubaneswar: The much-awaited Vande Bharat Express train service is likely to be launched in Odisha next month.
According to sources, the superfast high-end express train will originate from Puri and run up to Howrah via Odisha capital Bhubaneswar. If everything goes well as per plans, the train service will begin in May.
Preliminary work has already started for the project. Coaches manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai have been sent to Kolkata for primary maintenance. These coaches will subsequently come to Odisha for secondary maintenance before being ready for inauguration.
According to reports, it would be the ninth Vande Bharat train which is likely to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May.
The Vande Bharat Express can reach a maximum speed of 180 kmph.
The launch date is expected to be announced soon. The seaside pilgrim town of Puri is famous for Shree Jagannath Temple, which attracts a huge number of visitors from across the country.
If the train indeed goes on the Puri-Howrah route, then West Bengal will have two Vande Bharat Express trains. The other one is the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri service that was launched on December 30, last year.
The Vande Bharat Express train has 14 AC chair car coaches and two executive AC chair car coaches with a capacity of 1,128 passengers. The government plans to run 400 Vande Bharat trains across the country in the next three years.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, during his Odisha visit last year, had stated that the state is going to get a Vande Bharat Express soon.
