PM Narendra Modi to flag off Vande Bharat Express - India's fastest train - today

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off India's first semi-high speed train - Vande Bharat Express - on Friday from the New Delhi Railway Station.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had confirmed this on Thursday. 

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and members of the Railway Board will be onboard the train on its inaugural journey, it said. 

The train will travel from Delhi to Varanasi in nine hours and forty-five minutes. 

This includes stoppage time of 40 minutes each at Kanpur and Allahabad where there will be special programmes. 

At the New Delhi railway station, PM Modi will inspect the facilities in the train and address a gathering on the occasion. 

The semi-high speed Train 18, which has been recently rechristened as Vande Bharat Express, can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph and has travel classes like the Shatabdi trains but with better facilities. 

It aims to provide a totally new travel experience to passengers.