Semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express trains built with indigenous technology are plying across 21 states. However, the trains are not operating in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Goa.
The government claims that from June, 28 states of the country will get the Vande Bharat gift. Due to lack of electrification of railway routes in the seven states of the North East, there is a delay in the introduction of semi-high-speed trains. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to flag off the Vande Bharat train in Assam next week.
A senior Railway Board official said that the first Vande Bharat train ran between Delhi and Varanasi, after which the train operationalised between Delhi and Jammu. Currently, Vande Bharat is operating in a total of 21 states including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jammu-Kashmir, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and South Indian states.
The official claimed that by the end of June, the Vande Bharat trains will be started between Patna and Hatia and Patna and Ranchi (Jharkhand), and Goa and Mumbai (Maharashtra) in Bihar. This way, all the 28 states will get Vande Bharat trains.
Electrification work is going on in full swing on the railway routes in the North Eastern states. With the completion of the work, operation of Vande Bharat will be started. It will take time. However, Vande Bharat will start on May 29 between Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri in Assam.
Railway Board officials said so far, 34 Vande Bharat trains (17 pairs) have been introduced. The number will go up to 36 after the Assam-bound train starts on May 29.
The officials claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of introducing 75 Vande Bharat trains in every nook and corner of the country by August 15, 2025, would be achieved. The tender for 400 Vande Bharat trains has been issued by the Railways.
Presently, one Vande Bharat train is running every week at ICF, Chennai. Soon the production of Vande Bharat trains is going to start in a phased manner at MCF, Rae Bareli, Rail Coach Factory, Latur-Maharashtra, and BHEL, then production of 3-4 trains per week will start. Due to this the target of 75 Vande Bharat can be easily achieved.