Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express train to be launched on December 30: Check timings and other details

Vande Bharat train Howrah-New Jalpaiguri: West Bengal is all set to get its first Vande Bharat Express on December 30. The semi-high-speed train will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the busy Howrah-New Jalpaiguri route, a senior Eastern Railway official has said.

It will bring down travel time between Kolkata and Siliguri, the gateway to the Northeast considerably. The superfast train with modern passenger amenities will take around 7.5 hours on its run in both directions, Eastern Railway spokesperson Ekalabya Chakraborty said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express service from Howrah to New Jalpaiguri on December 30," he told PTI. The first Vande Bharat Express service in the state will be run six days a week.

Vande Bharat Express timings

The train will leave the Howrah station at 6 am to reach the New Jalpaiguri station at 1.30 pm, and after a one-hour stopover, it will leave the north Bengal station at 2.30 pm and reach Howrah at 10 pm, Chakraborty said. The blue and white 16-coach new rake has already arrived at the Liluah loco shed of Eastern Railway.

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So far, a total of six Vande Bharat Express trains are running in the country. These trains are running between Bilaspur-Nagpur, Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Shri Vaishno Devi Mata Katra, Gandhinagar to Mumbai, New Delhi to Andaura station and Chennai-Mysuru.

And now on December 30, India will get its 7th Vande Bharat Express. The last Vande Bharat Express was inaugurated by PM Modi on December 11 on the Nagpur-Bilaspur route.  

(With inputs from PTI)