The much-awaited semi speed train ‘Vande Bharat’ chugged out of platform No. 1 of Dharwad Railway Station after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged it off virtually on Tuesday morning.
The inaugural run of the train was scheduled at 10.30 a.m. while the regular run will be at 1.15 p.m. from Dharwad. The train which is projected as a blend of luxury and speed, will reach Bengaluru within seven hours.
At the formal inaugural ceremony held at Dharwad Railway Station, Governor of Karnataka Thawar Chand Gehlot expressed his happiness over the start of the semi-speed train and said that Vande Bharat is an example of what the technocrats in India can prove. He called on the youths to make India self-reliant in all sector.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said there was demand for reversing the train schedule to start it from Dharwad. However, the maintenance unit of Vande Bharat train was available only at Bengaluru at present and hence the train journey had to begin from Benglauru.
Mr. Joshi said that South Western Railway had already floated tenders inviting bids for setting up a maintenance unit in Hubballi and once the maintenance unit became functional, arrangements would be made to start Vande Bharat train from Dharwad. He said that it might take another six months for the unit to become functional.
Mr. Joshi, who travelled in the inaugural train along with Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, asked the General Manager of South Western Railway to increase the speed of the train as the doubling and electrification work on the route had been completed.
He told presspersons that in the days to come the speed of the train would be increased and once that was done the travel time between Dharwad and Bengaluru would be reduced to five hours. He also said that steps would be taken to get another Vande Bharat train from Belagavi in the days to come.
Earlier, during the inaugural run, a large number of people gathered at the railway station to celebrate the occasion. Several schoolchildren also got the chance to travel by the train.
