Maharashtra: First intra-state Vande Bharat Express to be flagged off on Feb 10

Central Railways (CR) is soon going to start the Vande Bharat train service between Mumbai-Shirdi and Mumbai-Solapur. Reports stated that both train services are likely to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 10.

The CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat service was supposed to begin on Jan. 19, but the launch was postponed. According to sources, the flagging-off ceremony is yet to be approved by the Prime Minister's Office, but CR authorities have already begun preparations, with senior CR officers visiting CSMT on Sunday to review the situation.

The Vande Bharat rakes for the new services are expected to arrive in the first week of February, after which route trials will be held. These will be the 9th and 10th Vande Bharat trains and the 7th and 8th Vande Bharat-II trains. The CSMT-Shirdi Sainagar Express will cover the distance between the cities in under 6 hours, while the CSMT-Solapur train will cover the distance in 6.5 hours.

The new version of the Vande Bharat train can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 52 seconds and has a maximum speed of 180 kmph. The air conditioning system is 15% more energy efficient. Also, the side recliner seat facility, which was provided only to executive class passengers earlier, will now be made available for all classes. The executive coaches have the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats.