If all goes as planned, citizens of West Bengal might get at least two more routes of Vande Bharat trains running to and from Howrah station soon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to inaugurate nine Vande Bharat Express trains virtually on 24 September, including two train routes from Howrah. One of the two routes being readied for the inauguration is Patna – Howrah Vande Bharat Express under the Eastern Railway.

The second route is likely to be Howrah-Ranchi Vande Bharat Express under the South Eastern Railway. The third route among the nine upcoming routes is Puri-Rourkela also to be operated by the South Eastern Railway. As a part of the preparations, a rake from Ranchi is headed for Howrah station today.

The new Vande Bharat Express rakes, this time, are said to have 25 improvements in the seat, toilets, water taps, air-conditioning and so on. According to the Eastern Railway, the new rakes are to have an increase in seat reclination angle from 17.31 degree to 19.37 degree, optimized cushions, colour of seat in executive chair car changed from red to pleasant blue, improved accessibility of mobile charging point under the seats, extended foot rest for seats in executive chair cars and many more. “From the past experience and from the feedback received from the passengers, railways has made huge modifications for the smooth journey of the passengers in Patna – Howrah route,” according to the CPRO of the Eastern Railway,

Kausik Mitra. Meanwhile, at least 20 trains were cancelled and four diverted till 5:30 pm following an agitation by the members of the Kurmi community blocking railway tracks in Odisha and Jharkhand today. Even as the protest was declared ‘withdrawn’ yesterday after the Calcutta High Court observed the agitation as ‘unconstitutional,’ a mammoth crowd of the Kurmi community members swarmed to the railway tracks near Ghaghra railway station between Chakradharpur and Rourkela in Jharkhand at around 10 am today.

The agitators blocked the train path of trains particularly those headed toward Mumbai from Howrah. Another crowd, bigger than that of Ghaghra, staged a rail blockade at Muri, starting their agitation at around 11.30 am disrupted the main line of vital train lines like HowrahRanchi, Ranchi- Bokaro and so on. Later, late in the evening, the cancelled train services were restored following the withdrawal of agitation by the members of the Kurmi community.