Odisha's first Vande Bharat likely to be flagged off on May 18

Bhubaneswar, May 12 The first Vande Bharat Express train from Odisha is likely to be flagged off on May 18. The train will run from Puri to Howrah with halt at major stations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off the Vande Bharat Express train service on May 18. However, it is not clear whether he will visit Odisha or join the programme through video-conferencing, Railway officials said, adding, "Everything will be cleared in next one or two days."

The train will cover the 500-km Puri-Howrah route in around five hours 30 minutes. At present, the Shatabdi Express is the fastest train on this route, taking around seven hours 35 minutes to cover the same distance.

The officials informed that the Puri-Howrah train will make halt at Khurda Road Junction, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, Balasore, and Kharagpur.

The trial run of the Vande Bharat Express had taken place on April 28 this year and it was successful. The trial route of the train was from Howrah to Puri and then back.

Following the trial run, Odisha's Commerce and Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu had demanded from Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to introduce the Vande Bharat Express train on Puri-Howrah, Puri-Rourkela and Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad routes.