West Bengal's FIRST Vande Bharat Express to run on Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri route soon: BJP MP

The Indian Railways will soon launch a Vande Bharat Express in West Bengal to connect Kolkata with Siliguri, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista said. Speaking at a programme at the Siliguri Junction railway station, Bista said the train will connect the Sealdah station in Kolkata to the New Jalpaiguri station in the north Bengal city of Siliguri. "People will be able to reach their destinations much faster when the Vande Bharat expressed is launched on the Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri route. It will begin a new chapter in the development of the region," the BJP MP said.

India launched its first semi high-speed train, the Vande Bharat Express, in 2019. The train, developed by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, has an intelligent braking system, enabling better acceleration and deceleration.

All the coaches are equipped with automatic doors, a GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard Wi-Fi and comfortable seats. The executive class has rotating chairs.

There are five Vande Bharat Express running on various routes across India, with the latest Mysuru-Chennai train being flagged off by PM Narendra Modi himself in Bengaluru. This was the South India's first Vande Bharat Express. Before that, he also flagged off Himachal Pradesh's first semi-high speed train between Una and New Delhi. 

Other Vande Bharat trains run on Mumbai-Ahemdabad route, New Delhi-Varanasi route and New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express.

With PTI inputs