Goa's first Vande Bharat will help in faster connectivity, boost tourism, trade: CM Sawant

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 and also 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 ahead of the ceremony to flag off the five Vande Bharat express trains from Bhopal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Vande Bharat trains on five new routes from Bhopal's Rani Kamalapati Railway Station. Two of the trains launched are in Madhya Pradesh, one in Karnataka, one in Bihar and one in Goa. 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. It will cover a distance of 586 km, the longest route covered by a Vande Bharat train in Maharashtra. It will be the fourth Vande Bharat train from Mumbai and the fifth from the state.

The Vande Bharat train will have halts at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Khed, Ratnagiri, and Kankavali stations in Maharashtra and Thivim in Goa. 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 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 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.

"It is a tremendous day. This shows we are advancing and India is marching ahead, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan said in Ranchi after PM Modi flagged off five Vande Bharat trains including Ranchi-Patna Vande Bharat Express in Bhopal today. Ahead of the launch PM Modi had tweeted, "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."