Bhubaneswar: The trial run of Tatanagar-Berhampur Vande Bharat Express began today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off the Vande Bharat Express between Tatanagar in Jharkhand and Berhampur in Odisha on September 15.

For the trial run, the Vande Bharat train began its journey from Tatanagar today morning. The train arrived at Keonjhar station in Odisha at 8.58 am and departed at 9.04 am.

Hundreds of local people congregated at Keonjhar station to watch the trial run of the Vande Bharat Express. The locals thanked the Prime Minister, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for taking the necessary steps to run a Vande Bharat train via Keonjhar.

The new train will boost communication between Keonjhar and the southern Odisha. It will provide hassle-free travel to people from Keonjhar to cities like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Berhampur.

Probable Timings & Stoppages

According to reports, the Vande Bharat Express will leave Tatanagar at 5.20 am and is expected to reach Berhampur at 2.30 pm. The return journey will begin at 3 pm from Berhampur and the train is expected to reach Tatanagar at 11.55 pm.

The train will cover a distance of 586 km in around 8 hours. It will have halts at Chaibasa, Dangoaposi, Banspani, Keonjhar, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road and Balugaon.

It is worth mentioning here that this would be the fourth Vande Bharat train for Odisha.

At present, the state has three Vande Bharat trains—one from Puri to Howrah, the second one from Puri to Rourkela and the third one from Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam.