Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off five Vande Bharat Express trains from the Rani Kamalapati Railway Station in Madhya Pradesh capital city Bhopal.

Ahead of the flagging-off ceremony, the Prime Minister interacted with crew members of the train and some children onboard the Vande Bharat train at Rani Kamlapati railway station. Five Vande Bharat Express trains which were flagged off by the PM include — Rani Kamalapati-Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express; Khajuraho-Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat Express; Madgaon (Goa)-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express; Dharwad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express; and Hatia-Patna Vande Bharat Express.

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Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Governor Mangubhai C Patel, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishaw and Jyotiraditya Schindia were present at the event.

The routes on which the semi-high speed trains would operate are- Rani Kamalapati (Bhopal)-Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express; Khajuraho-Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat Express; Madgaon (Goa)-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express; Dharwad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express; and Hatia-Patna Vande Bharat Express.

The Rani Kamalapati (Bhopal)-Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express will connect Madhya Pradesh Mahakaushal region (Jabalpur) to the Central region (Bhopal). Madhya Pradesh’s second semi-high speed will operate between the two cities at the speed of 130 kmph. The train is expected to be faster by about thirty minutes as compared to the existing fastest train on the route.

Madhya Pradesh’s third semi-high speed train will operate between the state’s Malwa region (Indore), Bundelkhand region (Khajuraho) and Central Region (Bhopal). The train is expected to benefit the tourist sites like Mahakaleshwar, Mandu, Maheshwar, Khajuraho, Panna. The train is expected be about two hours and thirty minutes faster than the fastest existing train on the route.

The Mumbai- Madgaon (Goa) Vande Bharat Express- which is Goa’s first semi-high speed train, will operate between Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Goa’s Madgaon station. The train will operate six days a week except on Friday. The train is expected to save the journey time by about an hour as compared to the existing trains on the route. The railway ministry had cancelled the launch of the Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat train after the Odisha tragedy.

The Dharwad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express in Karnataka will connect key cities like Dharwad, Hubballi and Davangere – with state capital Bengaluru. The train is expected to be faster by about thirty minutes as compared to the existing fastest train in the route. This will be second Vande Bharat train for Karnataka as the first one runs between Chennai, Bengaluru and Mysuru.

Hatia-Patna Vande Bharat Express would be the first Vande Bharat for Jharkhand and Bihar.

“Enhancing connectivity between Patna and Ranchi, the train will be a boon for tourists, students and businessmen. It will help save about one hour and twenty five minutes journey time, when compared with the current fastest train connecting the two places,” a statement said.

PM had written on Twitter wrote, “I will be in Bhopal tomorrow, 27th June to take part in two programmes. First, 5 Vande Bharat trains would be flagged off at a programme in Rani Kamalapati Railway Station. These trains will improve connectivity in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Bihar and Jharkhand.”

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that the first Vande Bharat Express launched in Goa today will improve faster connectivity of the State with Mumbai will boost tourism and trade.

“I am very grateful to PM Modi and Ashwini Vaishnaw for running the Vande Bharat train in the state. The PM will flag this virtually. This (Vande Bharat train) will definitely help in the faster connectivity of Goa with Mumbai which will boost tourism and trade,” Pramod Sawant said.