First Vande Bharat Sleeper connecting Assam and West Bengal flagged off by PM

By Arun Kumar Das

Guwahati, Jan 17 (BVI) The first Vande Bharat Sleeper train started plying from today between Howrah in West Bengal and Guwahati in Assam.

The first set of trains, to and fro Guwahati and Howrah, were flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid much fanfare at Kamakshya railway station here.

Significantly, both West Bengal and Assam are going to have Assembly polls in the next 2-3 months.

The train will cover the distance of 972 km between the two cities of Guwahati and Kolkata in 14 hours.

The train is scheduled to depart from Kamakhya at 18:15 hrs, and reach Howrah at 08:15 hrs on the next morning. In the return trip, the train is scheduled to depart from Howrah at 18:20 hrs, and reach Kamakhya at 08:20 hrs the next day.

The inaugural run will be followed by the commercial operation from next week, connecting Assam and west Bengal.

For SR Mondal, it was a memorable moment as he was the chosen one to drive the first Vande Bharat Sleeper train to Howrah along with his co-pilot CR Mishra.

Both loco pilots were specially trained to haul Vande Bharat Sleeper train.

Besides there were two more loco pilots – Prakash and Suhas – deployed at the the most prestigous train as standby.

“We are at the service in case of emergency,” said Prakash.

The atmosphere at Kamakhya Junction platform was full of excitement with the presence of schoolchildren, scouts and guides, NGO volunteers and many rail enthusiasts.

Naresh and Shailendra, both stall owners at the Kamakhya platform, are expecting good business with the introduction of Vande Bharat Sleeper from here.

“There was not much business here but now with launching of Vande Bharat Sleeper, we expect good business,” said Naresh.

Manufactured by BEML, two Vande Bharat Sleeper rakes are being equipped with modern facilities for better passengeer comforts.

Raghvendra, the BEML technician along with 17 others onboard, said, “we are here to attend any technical glitches.

“There will be 8 more such trains to be produced by us this year,” he informed.

An excited Aarna, 8th Class student from South Point school along with 47 students are onboard on the inaugural run. She has written an essay on Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

“Everything is manufactured in India and this Vande Bharat is alo made here. So our focus should be on Atma Nirbhar Bharat,” said Aarna.

Mayuranki, a student of Class X, is planning to visit Kolkata with family in this train. “I want to travel in this train with my family to Kolkata as the the train look very nice to me,” she said.

Some students have done paintings on the subject of Indian Railways, environment and cleanliness.

The service will benefit Kamrup Metropolitan and Bongaigaon districts in Assam and Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Maldah, Murshidabad, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly and Howrah districts in West Bengal. (BVI)