Bengal gets another Vande Bharat train connecting NJP with Patna

Kolkata: West Bengal on Tuesday got another Vande Bharat Express train which would be operated between New Jalpaiguri in the northern part of the state and Bihar's Patna.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the train between New Jalpaiguri and Patna through video conferencing.

The flower-bedecked inaugural train left New Jalpaiguri station as the prime minister showed the green signal to it. It is one of the 10 Vande Bharat Express trains flagged off by him from Ahmedabad, a senior Northeast Frontier Railway official said.

The semi-high-speed train will provide an important link between Patna, the Bihar capital, and Siliguri, the north Bengal city which is considered to be the gateway to the northeastern states of the country.

With the introduction of the train, West Bengal now has six Vande Bharat Express trains, a railway official said.

Regular service of the train on the New Jalpaiguri– Patna– New Jalpaiguri route will start from March 14 from both ends, the NFR official said.

The train will depart from New Jalpaiguri at 5:15 am and reach Patna Junction at 12:10 pm the same day, he said.

In its return journey, the train will depart from Patna Junction at 1.00 pm to reach New Jalpaiguri at 8 pm the same day.

The trains will run six days a week via Kishanganj and Katihar from both ends, taking approximately seven hours to cover a distance of 471 km on either side.

The train will be of eight coaches with a seating capacity of 530 passengers.

There will be one executive class, five chair cars and two driver trail coaches, the NFR official added.

The prime minister also flagged off through the virtual mode a new express train between Asansol in West Bengal and Hatia in Jharkhand, an Eastern Railway official said.

The train, whose route passes through Giridih, will run with a vistadome coach so that passengers can enjoy the scenic beauty while travelling, he added.