PM to flag off country's first Vande Metro between Ahmedabad-Bhuj and Vande Bharat trains

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the country's first 'Vande Metro' service between Bhuj and Ahmedabad besides several other Vande Bharat trains during his visit to Gujarat on Monday.

The prime minister's other engagements include the inauguration of RE-INVEST 2024 in Gandhinagar and inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs. 8,000 crore in Ahmedabad.

The Vande Bharat trains will operate on routes including Kolhapur-Pune, Pune-Hubballi, Nagpur-Secunderabad, Agra Cantt to Banaras, and Durg to Visakhapatnam. The first 20-coach Vande Bharat train will run between Varanasi and Delhi, as per a PMO release.

Meanwhile, the Central Railway stated that the inaugural Kolhapur-Pune Vande Bharat Express will leave Kolhapur at 16.15 hrs on September 16 and reach Pune at 22.40 hrs the same day.

According to Western Railway officials, the Ahmedabad-Bhuj Vande Metro service will stop at nine stations and cover the 360-kilometre distance in 5 hours and 45 minutes at a top speed of 110 kilometres per hour.

It will depart from Bhuj at 5:05 am and reach Ahmedabad Junction at 10:50 am, the officials had said.

Pune-Hubballi Vande Bharat Express will leave Pune at 16.15 hrs on Monday and reach Hubballi at 23.40 hrs the same day. The Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express will depart Nagpur at 4.15 PM and reach Secunderabad at 11.25 PM the same day, the CR stated.

The Kolhapur-Pune-Kolhapur Vande Bharat Express will run three days per week.

Kolhapur-Pune Vande Bharat Express will run every Thursday, Saturday and Monday effective September 19. It will start from Kolhapur at 8.15 AM and reach its destination Pune at 1.30 PM the same day.

Pune-Kolhapur Vande Bharat Express will be operated every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday effective September 18. It will depart from Pune at 2.15 PM and reach Kolhapur at 7.40 PM the same day, the CR stated.

The Kolhapur-Pune-Kolhapur Vande Bharat Express will halt at Miraj, Sangli, Kirloskarwadi, Karad and Satara stations.

The Pune-Hubballi-Pune Vande Bharat Express will also run three days per week on Thursday, Saturday and Monday.

With effect from September 19, the Pune-Hubballi Vande Bharat Express will leave Pune station at 14.15 hrs and reach Hubballi at 22.45 hrs the same day.

Hubballi-Pune Vande Bharat Express will be operated every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from September 18. The train will leave Hubballi at 5 AM and reach Pune at 1.30 PM the same day with scheduled halts at Satara, Sangli, Miraj, Belagavi and Dharwad stations, the Central Railway said.

Nagpur-Secunderabad-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express will run six days a week, except Tuesday, from Thursday, departing from Nagpur at 5 AM and reaching Secunderabad at 12.15 PM the same day.

The Secunderabad- Nagpur Vande Bharat Express will also run six days a week, except Tuesday, which will leave Secunderabad at 1 PM and reach Nagpur at 8.20 PM the same day. This train will halt at Sevagram, Chandrapur, Ballarshah, Ramagundam and Kazipet stations.

The prime minister will also inaugurate a 30 MW solar system, a 35 MW BESS Solar PV Project at Kutch Lignite Thermal Power Station, Kutch, and 220 Kilovolt substations at Morbi and Rajkot.

Modi will launch the Single Window IT System (SWITS) of the International Financial Services Centres Authority, designed to streamline financial services.

The prime minister will also sanction more than 30,000 houses under the PMAY-Gramin and release the first instalment for these homes, as well as launch construction of houses under the PMAY scheme.