Chennai-Nellai Vande Bharat service begins
Among those who travelled on the inaugural service were Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister of State L Murugan, and PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan
Students, who were at Tirunelveli station for Vande Bharat launch event, take a selfie
CHENNAI: Much to the delight of thousands of people from the southern part of Tamil Nadu who have settled down in the State capital, the first Vande Bharat Express between Tirunelveli and Chennai began running on Sunday.
It was among the nine new VB Express services, including one on Vijayawada – Dr MGR Chennai Central route, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off virtually during the day.
A large number of people thronged the Tirunelveli station from where the train started around 1 pm on Sunday. There were cultural programmes by children at the railway station to mark the occasion.
ALSO READ: What to expect in the Nellai-Chennai Vande Bharat express
Among those who travelled on the inaugural service were Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister of State L Murugan, Tirunelveli MP S Gnanathiraviam, Tirunelveli MLA and BJP State vice-president Nainar Nagendran, and Palayamkottai MLA M Abdul Wahab.
Noting that the service, which is faster and cheaper than luxury buses that the people are dependent on, would be beneficial to the people of South Tamil Nadu, Tamilisai recalled her childhood memories when she used to frequently travel from the Tirunelveli station along with her father, veteran Congress leader Kumari Ananthan.
When the train reached Madurai station, IT Minister and local MLA PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan, and Mayor Indrani Ponvasanth led the welcome party and cut a special cake along with the members of the Indian Railways Fan Club.
As per the schedule released by the Southern Railway, train number 20665 Chennai Egmore – Tirunelveli Vande Bharat Express will leave Chennai Egmore at 2.50 pm and reach Tirunelveli at 10.40 pm. Train number 20666 Tirunelveli – Chennai Egmore Vande Bharat Express will leave Tirunelveli at 6 am and reach at 1.50 pm the same day. The service will be operated on all days except Tuesday.
Train number 20677 Dr MGR Chennai Central – Vijayawada Vande Bharat Express will depart at 5.30 am and reach Vijayawada at 12.10 pm, while the return train (number 20678) will depart from Vijayawada at 3.20 pm and reach Dr MGR Chennai Central at 12.10 pm. This too will not be operated on Tuesdays.
