Telugu states to get two new Vande Bharat trains

Hyderabad, Sep 16 (IANS) Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are set to get two new Vande Bharat Express trains with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to flag off Nagpur-Secunderabad and Durg-Visakhapatnam trains on Monday.

While the first train will connect Maharashtra’s Nagpur city to Secunderabad in Telangana, the second train will link Andhra Pradesh’s port city Visakhapatnam to Durg city of Chhattisgarh.

They will be two of the seven Vande Bharat Express trains across various states to be flagged off by the Prime Minister through a remote video link from Ahmedabad at 4.15 p.m.

South Central Railway (SCR) will organise a ceremonial function at Secunderabad Railway Station.

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar and senior officials are expected to participate in the programme.

Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express is set to run regular services from September 19, while Durg-Visakhapatnam will run from September 20.

According to SCR officials, Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat will enhance connectivity and speed between various cities in Maharashtra and Telangana. The train provides convenient timings facilitating daytime travel from Nagpur, Balharshah and other towns to reach Secunderabad.The train will cover the distance of 585 kms between Nagpur and Secunderabad in 7 hours and 15 minutes.

In between, the train will stop at Sevagram, Chandrapur, Balharshah, Ramagundam and Kazipet railway stations in both directions.

The train consists of two Executive class coaches and 18 Chair Car coaches with a combined seating capacity of 1,440 seats.Train Number 20101 Nagpur-Secunderabad will depart from Nagpur at 0500 hours and arrive in Secunderabad at 1215 hours. Train Number 20102 Secunderabad-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express will depart Secunderabad at 1300 hours and reach Nagpur at 2020 hours.Durg-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express is likely to reduce travel time between the two cities to eight hours.

The train, consisting 16 coaches, will operate six days a week, except on Thursdays, from both ends.

This train will have intermediate stops at Raipur, Mahasamund, Khariar Road, Kantabanji, Titlagarh, Kesinga, Rayagada and Vizianagaram.The 20829 Durg-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat will depart from Drug at 545 hours and reach Visakhapatnam at 1345 hours. Similarly, the 20830 Visakhapatnam-Durg Vande Bharat will depart from Visakhapatnam at 1450 hours and arrive at Durg at 2250 hours.