Train 18: India’s First Engineless Train Vande Bharat Express to be Flagged Off by PM Narendra Modi Today
Train 18, the country's first engineless train manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, will be flagged off at 10 am from the New Delhi railway station.
New Delhi, February 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday will flag off the indigenously built Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18, today from the New Delhi railway station. Train 18, the country's first engineless train manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, will be flagged off at 10 am from the New Delhi railway station. PM Modi is expected to address the gathering while flagging off the train.
The Vande Bharat Express has two classes of tickets — executive class and chair car — and will have differently priced meals. Ahead of the inauguration of the Train 18, the Indian Railways slashed ticket prices. An air-conditioned chair car ticket for a Delhi-Varanasi trip would cost Rs 1,760, instead of Rs 1,850, and the executive class fare will be Rs 3,310, instead of RS 3,520. It includes catering charges.
On the return journey, the chair car ticket would cost Rs 1,700 and the executive car ticket will be priced at Rs 3,260, a railway order said. Now, the chair car fares are 1.4 times the base price of Shatabdi trains running the same distance and the executive class fares are 1.3 times of first-class air-conditioned seating in the premium train, it said. Train 18: Visuals From The Inside of 'Vande Bharat Express'; Watch Video.
Passengers travelling from New Delhi to Varanasi in the executive class will be charged Rs 399 for morning tea, breakfast and lunch, while travellers in the chair car will need to pay Rs 344 for the same. While the passengers travelling from New Delhi to Kanpur and Prayagraj will have to pay Rs 155 and Rs 122 for executive class and chair car, respectively.
From Varanasi to New Delhi, the passengers will be charged Rs 349 and Rs 288 in the executive class and chair, respectively. They will be served evening tea with snacks and dinner. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said that the indigenously built train would complete the distance of 795 km in eight hours, 35 per cent faster than other fastest trains on the route.
Train 18 recently became India's fastest train by hitting a speed of over 180 kmph during a trial run. (With agency inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 15, 2019 09:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).