Indian Railways on Wednesday will finally flag off its fastest 150 km per hour train, which will cover the 198 km distance between New Delhi and Agra in just two hours.
The Bhopal Shatabdi Express will be flagged off by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, becoming a reality after long delays in getting in place the infrastructure to ensure the safety of the high-speed train.
"The special Bhopal Shatabdi will begin its run from New Delhi at 9.30 am Wednesday," a railway ministry official said.
The highest permissible speed currently is 120 km per hour.
After covering the New Delhi-Agra distance, the train will operate at a normal maximum speed of 120 km till Bhopal, a Northern Railway official said.
Speeding up the train will help lop off at least 15 minutes from the current travel time of 135 minutes taken to cover the 198 km stretch between Delhi-Agra, the official said.
Successful trial runs of the train were carried out last month.
{{/usCountry}}Successful trial runs of the train were carried out last month.
{{/usCountry}}"The speeding up of the Bhopal Shatabdi will help to reduce the total run of the train in both directions by at least half hour," the official said.