Bengal welcomes first Vande Bharat Express

KOLKATA: People in West Bengal welcomed their first Vande Bharat express on Friday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the semi-high-speed train that will run between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri.

The nation's seventh Vande Bharat express train between Howrah-New Jalpaiguri (NJP) has been flagged off through video conferencing by the Prime Minister minutes after the last rite of his mother Heeraben Modi.

Modi took part in the flag-off from Gujarat as the train left Howrah station in Bengal. The train will cover a distance of around 550km and will take a little more than seven and a half hours to reach its destination, with only three stoppages from Howrah to NJP.

The Shatabdi also runs between the two terminals. The Vande Bharat will run six days a week except on Wednesdays. The train will depart at 5.50 am from Howrah and reach NJP at 1.25 pm. From NJP, the train will depart at 3.05 pm and reach Howrah at 10.35 pm.

The Prime Minister was also supposed to virtually lay the foundation stone of the redevelopment project of New Jalpaiguri Railway station which will be the first international train terminal of the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was scheduled to flag off the Vande Bharat Express from Kolkata on Friday, attended the programme via video conferencing, following his mother Heeraben Modi's demise on Friday morning. She was admitted to an Ahmedabad hospital on Wednesday after her condition deteriorated.

The Prime Minister informed the nation about her demise early Friday morning. Informing about her demise, the Prime Minister posted a heartfelt tweet: "A glorious century rests at the feet of God... In Maa, I have always felt that trinity, which contains the journey of an ascetic, the symbol of a selfless Karmayogi and a life committed to values" Condolences across Party Lines were offered by politicians across the country across Party Lines on the death of the Prime Minister's mother.

Several Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, offered their condolences to the bereaved Prime Minister and his family. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee too offered her condolences.

"Condolences to PM @narendramodi Ji on the passing away of his mother, Heeraben Modi. I pray that her soul rests in peace. In this hour of grief, I hope that he and his family members find strength," she tweeted.