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Punjab governor, Union minister flag off Vande Bharat train from Amritsar
Ambala divisional railway manager Mandeep Singh Bhatia said that the train will run for six days and will have halts at Ambala Cantonment, Sahnewal, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar Cantt and Beas .
Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit and Union minister of state for commerce and industry Som Parkash on Saturday flagged off “Vande Bharat Express” from railway station in Amritsar.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s district leadership, Congress MP from Amritsar, Gurjit Singh Aujla and Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Amritsar north, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh were present on the occasion.
Ambala divisional railway manager Mandeep Singh Bhatia said that the train will run for six days and will have halts at Ambala Cantonment, Sahnewal, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar Cantt and Beas .
Except on Friday, the train cover a total distance of 446.3km at an average speed of 81.14 km per hour, taking a total of five hours and 30 minutes.
The new train is likely to reduce the journey by 40 minutes as the Swarna Jayanti Shatabdi and the evening Shatabdi take six hours and 10 minutes to cover this distance.
The train was welcomed by senior BJP and Aam Aadmi Party leaders at the Jalandhar Cantonment railway station. DRM Bhatia and Haryana home minister Anil Vij welcomed the train at the Ambala Cantonment railway station.
AAP MP Sushil Kumar Rinku said that the train’s halt at Jalandhar will benefit the entire Doaba region, especially non-resident Indians, industrialists and traders. The MP was travelling in the train along with his family and other party leaders.
Bhatia said the Vande Bharat train flagged off between Katra and New Delhi on Saturday also has a halt at Ambala. This takes the number of Vande Bharat trains with halt at Ambala to five.
Officials said the ease of travel through this train would boost the economic growth of the region by tourism and business, adding that it would be of great help for the pilgrims to and from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
