Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off a Vande Bharat Express train to Tirupati at the Secunderabad Railway Station at 11 am on 8 April.
Announcing Modi’s visit to Telangana, Union Minister G Kishen Reddy said the Prime Minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for a slew of infrastructure projects.
The Vande Bharat Express will reach Tirupati, a temple town in Andhra Pradesh, in eight hours and 30 minutes. The existing services take close to 12 hours to reach Tirupati from Secunderabad.
The train will be the second Vande Bharat Express linking the two Telugu states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Modi had virtually flagged off the Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express on 15 January.
India’s fifth and South India’s first Vande Bharat Express was inaugurated by Modi on the Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru route on 10 November.
Related: Know all about the Vande Bharat semi-high speed trains
Seamless travel
The Vande Bharat train to Tirupati will make travel seamless for those visiting the spiritual city from Hyderabad. The train will halt at Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole, and Nellore stations
Reddy urged the people to accord the train a warm welcome at all the stations.
The Union Minister said preparations are in full swing for inaugurating the train.
Also read: All about Secunderabad-Vizag Vande Bharat
Additional halts for first train
The inaugural train will stop at Nalgonda, Miryalaguda, Piduguralla, Guntur, Tenali, Bapatla, Chirala, Ongole, Nellore, and Gudur stations.
The Union Minister said the additional stops for the inaugural train are to provide an opportunity for the people to see the train and experience the rapid strides India is making in building an Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
The Indian Railways plan to develop and manufacture 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains, with better energy efficiency and passenger riding experience.
These trains are being operated with modern coaches and aim to provide faster service and better travel experience to passengers.
The features of Vande Bharat services include quick acceleration, onboard infotainment, and Global Positioning System (GPS)-based Passenger Information System, automatic sliding doors, retractable footsteps, and zero-discharge vacuum bio-toilets.
They are also fitted with kavach, an India-made safety system.
