Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan will be physically present at the Secunderabad railway station during the inauguration.
While speaking to ANI during the pre-launch inspection of the train at Secunderabad railway station, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of transforming India with technology, every aspect and dimension of Indian Railways is on the path of transformation.
Reacting to the flagging off of the Vande Bharat Express service by PM Modi, he said, "It's a very big gift and I thank Prime Minister for this hugely popular train, a modern train, which is world-class, which will connect the two Telugu-speaking people and the major cities which are getting connected tomorrow. It will be a big boon for this region."
Here's all you need to know about the Secunderabad-VisakhapatnamVande Bharat train:
Railway sources told PTI that the regular services of the train would start from January 16 and the bookings commenced on Saturday.
The Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express (20833) will start at 05.45 am and would reach Secunderabad at 2.15 pm. As per IRCTC, the fare for AC chair car is ₹1720 and Executive Chair Car is ₹3170.
The Secunderabad–Visakhapatnam train (20834) will depart from Secunderabad at 3 pm and would reach Visakhapatnam at 11.30 pm. The fare price for AC chair car is ₹1,665 and for Executive Chair Car is ₹3,120.
Speaking of halts, the train will stop at Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Khammam and Warangal in both the directions.
The train comprises 14 AC Chair Car Coaches and two Executive AC Chair Car Coaches with the capacity of 1,128 passengers.
As per the PMO statement, this will be the first one connecting the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of around 700 km.
As per Southern Railway release, it will provide the fastest travelling facility between these two stations and has exclusive reserved sitting accommodation.
India launched its first semi high-speed train, the Vande Bharat Express, in 2019. The train, developed by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, has an intelligent braking system, enabling better acceleration and deceleration.
The indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System - KAVACH.
All the coaches are equipped with automatic doors, a GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard Wi-Fi and comfortable seats. The executive class has rotating chairs.
(With inputs from agencies)
