Maharashtra: Vande Bharat to connect Sikh pilgrimage town of Nanded, CM Fadnavis to inaugurate train on Ganesh Chaturthi

Mumbai: The Sikh pilgrimage town of Nanded - which houses the Gurudwara Hazur Sahib, one of the Panj Takht on the banks of Godavari River - will now be connected by the iconic Vande Bharat train.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will flag off the inaugural run of Special Vande Bharat Express on Tuesday, on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The train will run between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai to Nanded.

“The 20706 CSMT-Jalna Vande Bharat Express will be extended to run up to Hazur Sahib Nanded with effect from 27 August. The 20705 Jalna-CSMT Vande Bharat Express will be extended to run from Hazur Sahib Nanded with effect from 28 August,” a Central Railway spokesperson said on Monday.

The train will now connect Nanded in the Marathwada region with Mumbai, and cover districts of Nanded and Parbhani apart from the already connected districts en route, strengthening the ties between Nanded and Mumbai.

The train will cover the distance of 610 km between Nanded and Mumbai within a short span of 9 hours 25 mins.

Presently the fastest train between Mumbai and Nanded is the Devgiri Express which takes 11 hrs, 20 mins.

The CSMT-Nanded-CSMT Vande Bharat will reduce the journey time by nearly 2 hrs, offering passengers a much faster and more comfortable option.

The train timings are very convenient, facilitating day time travel of passengers from Nanded and Parbhani to reach Mumbai by noon and also return by evening / night. The train will run 6 days a week (except Wednesday from Nanded and except Thursday from Mumbai).

The train will have 20 coaches (Executive – 02, Chair Car - 18) with a combined seating capacity of 1440 seats.

Situated on the banks of the Godavari river, Nanded houses the Gurudwara Hazur Sahib, which is an important pilgrimage site for Sikhs. In addition it also features several other pilgrimage places nearby like the Renuka Mata temple at Mahur, Mahurgad, Kandhar Fort, the Kedarguda and Gaitond Temples.

Besides Nanded is also known for its educational institutions and Commercial Centre with industries largely focussed on agriculture and steel furniture manufacturing.

The Vande Bharat’s extension is long standing demand of passengers of the Marathwada region.

It will not only provide fast rail connectivity to businesspersons, students travelling to cities like Nashik and Mumbai, but will also give a fillip to pilgrim tourism in the region.

Important pilgrimage centres like Rajur Ganapati Temple in Jalna, Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga temple of Lord Shiva along with Ajanta and Ellora caves near Aurangabad and the Saibaba temple at Shirdi near Manmad will all be connected with semi-high speed rail connectivity offering enhanced comfort and convenience to the pilgrim tourists.