Modi to flag off West Bengal's first Vande Bharat Express on Dec 30

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off West Bengal's first Vande Bharat Express on the busy Howrah-New Jalpaiguri route on December 30, a senior Eastern Railway official said.

The superfast train with modern passenger amenities will take around 7.5 hours on its run in both directions, Eastern Railway spokesperson Ekalabya Chakraborty said.

''Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express service from Howrah to New Jalpaiguri on December 30,'' he told PTI.

It will run six days in a week, he said. The train will leave the Howrah Station at 6 am and reach New Jalpaiguri Station at 1.30 pm, and after a one-hour stopover, it will depart from the north Bengal station at 2.30 pm and arrive at Howrah at 10 pm, Chakraborty said on Sunday. The blue and white 16-coach rake has already arrived at the Liluah loco shed of Eastern Railway, he added.