Chandigarh gets second Vande Bharat, to ply once a week from March 14

Flagged off by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Tuesday, the addition is expected to improve Chandigarh’s connectivity to national capital New Delhi and Rajasthan.

Railways has announced a second Vande Bharat train for the city, which is set to start plying from Thursday.

The second Vande Bharat train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually on Tuesday. (Sant Arora/HT)

The weekly train that earlier ran between Ajmer and Delhi Cantt has been extended to Chandigarh.

Flagged off by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Tuesday, the addition is expected to improve the city’s connectivity to national capital New Delhi and Rajasthan.

The Vande Bharat Superfast Express (Train number 20977) will depart from Ajmer at 6.20 am each Thursday, reach Delhi Cantt at 11.30 am and then Chandigarh at 2.45 pm. It will begin its return journey from Chandigarh at 3.15 pm on Thursday itself and arrive at Delhi Cantt at 6.23 pm. This extended route will include stops at Jaipur, Gurugram and Delhi Cantt, benefiting commuters travelling between Punjab, Ajmer, Jaipur and Delhi, and is expected to boost tourism and business.

Chandigarh’s other Vande Bharat train runs six days a week, except Friday.

The PM inaugurated 10 new Vande Bharat trains, announced the extension of four existing routes, two freight corridors, two passenger trains, seven freight trains, 222 goods sheds, 50 Jan Aushadhi Kendras, 1,500 one-station one-product (OSOP) projects, 35 rail coach restaurants, and 51 Gati Shakti cargo terminals, among other projects worth over ₹85,000 crore.

The Ambala Division received a boost in the form of a Gati Shakti cargo terminal, eight goods sheds, doubling of Rajpura-Bathinda rail section, seven OSOP projects, one Janaushadhi Kendra and 13 cargo handling points.

UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit, Ambala divisional railway manager Mandeep Singh Bhatia were present at the inauguration in Ludhiana.