PM Modi to inaugurate Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express on April 8

New Delhi, March 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modiwill inaugurate the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande BharatExpress train from the Chennaistation on April 8. PM Modi will visit Chennai on April 8 to inaugurate various railway projects, including the Chennai-Kovai Vande Bharat Express. A tri-weekly express will also be inaugurated on the Tambaram-Sengottai route.

 

 

This will be the second Vande Bharat train for the zone after the Chennai to Mysuru via Bengaluru service. Earlier, Mysuru–Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express was inaugurated by the Prime Minister. The two new trains are expected to provide huge relief to passengers who have to rely on omnibuses during weekends and festival seasons. Notably, these are highly congested routes.

 

 

 

“Once the sectional speed is increased to 130 kmph, the travel time of trains plying on Chennai - Jolarpettai (214 km) track will be cut by 10 to 15 minutes. Subsequently, the overall journey time between two cities will go down to less than 7 hours,” Indian Express quoted an official.

Currently, the Chennai-Coimbatore section is served by two super express trains and a Shatabdi express during the day. The 495 km journey from Chennai to Coimbatore takes approximately 7.5 hours, while the return journey takes 8 hours. The Shatabdi express takes 7 hours to cover the distance.

 

The train will have chair car coaches and will be a premium service on the route along with the Shatabdi express. The stoppages of the train are yet to be deicded. The Shatabdi train currently has four enroute stops.

 

Southern Railway had already identified Coimbatore or Madurai as the route for the next Vande Bharat service from Chennai. Railways want to introduce more Vande Bharat service on routes that can be covered using trains with chair car coaches.

 

 

The express train to Sengottai will enable a direct link to Chennai on the Tenkasi - Ambasamudran - Tirunelveli sector. This comes 11 years after it was converted into a broad gauge line. The new service will run on the main line via Thiruvarur, Karaikudi and Tenkasi.

 

PM Modi's last visit to Tamil Nadu was on November 11, 2022, to participate in the Gandhigram Trust's platinum jubilee functions and the convocation ceremony of Gandhigram Rural Institute (deemed university) in Dindigul.

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