On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remotely inaugurate Goa’s inaugural Vande Bharat Express from Madgaon railway station. This technologically advanced train will enhance connectivity on the Mumbai-Goa route, offering the people of the region a faster and more comfortable travel experience. It will be the 19th Vande Bharat Express to operate in the country.
Operating between Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Goa’s Madgaon Station, the train is expected to complete the journey in approximately seven and a half hours, saving around one hour compared to the fastest existing train on this route. With its state-of-the-art amenities and advanced safety features, including KAVACH technology, the indigenously built Vande Bharat Express will also contribute to boosting tourism in both states.
It is worth mentioning that the Indian Railways had previously launched the country’s first indigenous semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express. The inaugural Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on February 15, 2019, on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.The Vande Bharat Express can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph.In his address to the nation on August 15, 2021, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that during the 75 weeks of the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, 75 Vande Bharat trains will connect every corner of the country.In the Union Budget 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that four hundred new-generation Vande Bharat Trains will be manufactured during the next three years.