NE BUSINESS BUREAU
CHENNAI, AUG 30
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off three new Vande Bharat Express trains on Saturday, including two in the Southern Railway zone. The new trains will operate between Chennai Egmore and Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu, Madurai and Bengaluru Cantonment, and Meerut and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.
In view of this, a special program has been organized at Chennai Central Railway Station. Union Minister of State L. Murugan, Governor of Tamil Nadu RN Ravi and others will participate in the program.
Similarly, Union Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna will participate in the inauguration ceremony of the Madurai-Bangalore Vande Bharat train in Madurai.
The two new services are scheduled to begin operations on September 2
The Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express (20627/20628) train will run six days a week, excluding Wednesdays. The stoppages for the train are at Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Villupuram, Tiruchchirappalli, Dindigul, Madurai, Kovilpatti, Tirunelveli, and Nagercoil Junction.
The train will depart from Chennai Egmore at 5 am and reach Nagercoil by 1.50 pm. According to the return schedule, it will leave Nagercoil at 2.20 pm and arrive at Chennai Egmore by 11 pm. The fare for the chair car is Rs 1,760, while the executive chair car costs Rs 3,240, inclusive of catering charges.
Meanwhile, the Madurai-Bengaluru Cantonment Vande Bharat Express (20671/20672) train service will also operate six days a week, except on Tuesdays. It halts at Dindigul, Tiruchchirappalli, Karur, Namakkal, Salem, and Krishnarajapuram.
According to the Southern Railways schedule, the train will leave from Madurai Junction at 5.15 am and reach Bengaluru Cantonment at 1 pm. For its return, the Vande Bharat express will start from Bengaluru Cantonment at 1.30 pm, and will arrive in Madurai by 9.45 pm. With a chair car costing Rs 1,575, and the executive chair car fare is Rs 2,865, inclusive of catering charges.
With six trains operating already, the Southern Railways has the highest number of Vande Bharat Express trains among the various railway zones in India.
