Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off two Vande Bharat trains, one between Mumbai and Solapur and another between Mumbai and Shirdi. The inauguration ceremony was held in Mumbai, with Union Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in attendance.
“For the 1st time 2 Vande Bharat trains launched. They’ll connect financial centres like Mumbai & Pune to centres of our devotion. It’ll benefit college-going & office-going people, farmers & devotees”, the prime minister said.
“Vande Bharat train is a magnificent picture of today’s modern India. It’s a reflection of India’s speed & scale. You can see the speed with which the country is launching Vande Bharat. 10 trains launched”, he added.
“A gift of 2 Vande Bharat together, that too from the historic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Work has begun to make this an int’l level terminus”, Vaishnaw was quoted by ANI.
Shinde said it is for the first time that Maharashtra received ₹13,500 crore for railways. “A few people say what did Maharashtra get in the budget. But they didn’t read. As Railway Minister and Deputy CM said, Maharashtra had never received ₹13,500 cr for the railway. For the first time this amount has been allocated for railway in state”, he said at the event.
Here’s all you need to know about the two Vande Bharat trains.
Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat: This train between Mumbai and Solapur runs on six days except Wednesday. The train departs from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal (CST) at 4:05 pm and reaches Solapur at 10:40 pm. The train stops at Dadar, Kalyan, Pune and Kurduvadi during its six hours and 35-minute long journey. The chair car ticket costs ₹1,000 without catering service and ₹1,300 with catering service. The executive chair car ticket costs ₹2,015 without catering service and ₹2,365 for catering service.
Mumbai-Shirdi Vande Bharat: This Vande Bharat train runs between Mumbai CST station and Sainagar Shirdi, covering the distance in five hours and 20 minutes. The train departs at 6.20 am and will reach Shirdi at 11.40 am. The train stops at Dadar, Thane and Nashik Road stations. The Vande Bharat train runs on six days except Tuesday. The chair car ticket costs ₹840 without catering service and ₹975 without catering service. The executive chair car ticket costs ₹1,670 without food and ₹1,840 with food.
