Bhubaneswar: The Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express is expected to hit the tracks from next week and it is likely that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the semi-high-speed train, a source said.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are also likely to be present at Puri railway station during the flagging-off ceremony, the source added.
However, there is no official announcement from Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about the flag-off yet.
Notably, if flagged off, this will be the 17th Vande Bharat Express in the country and it will operate between Odisha’s Puri railway station and West Bengal’s Howrah.
According to the source, this train will halt for a duration of two minutes each at Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khurda.
It can be mentioned here that the first successful trial run of Vande Bharat Express was conducted from Howrah to Puri April 28 and the second trial run from Howrah to Bhadrak was conducted two days later.
PNN