PM Modi to flag off Puri-Vizag Vande Bharat on March 12; Here’re timings, stoppages

Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Puri-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat train through videoconference on March 12 (Tuesday).

The Prime Minister will flag off 10 new Vande Bharat trains between Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Mysuru- Dr. MGR Central (Chennai), Patna- Lucknow, New Jalpaiguri-Patna, Puri-Visakhapatnam, Lucknow – Dehradun, Kalaburagi – Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal Bengaluru, Ranchi-Varanasi, Khajuraho- Delhi (Nizamuddin) through videoconference during his visit to Ahmedabad in Gujarat on March 12, said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) today.

The Ministry of Railways had earlier given its approval for introduction of a Vande Bharat train between Puri in Odisha and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The Vande Bharat train will run six days (except Saturday) in a week, said the Ministry of Railways yesterday.

The train will leave Puri station at 5.15 am and reach Visakhapatnam at 11.30 am. On its return journey, the Vande Bharat train will leave Visakhapatnam at 3.40 pm and arrive at Puri station at 9.55 pm, it added.

The train will make stoppages at Khurda Road and Berhampur in Odisha and at Palasa, Srikakulam Road and Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, said the ministry.

The rakes of the new Vande Bharat train will be saffron-grey in colour. A trial run of the train was conducted on March 8, sources said.

This will be the third Vande Bharat train for Odisha. At present, the state has two Vande Bharat trains—one from Puri to Rourkela and another from Puri to Howrah.