Northeast's first Vande Bharat on Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri route; Details inside

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first Vande Bharat Express train of the Northeast connecting Assam’s Guwahati and West Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri on Monday, May 29 via video-conferencing. This will be the country’s 18th Vande Bharat train and will help in enhancing the connectivity of the Northeast.

Apart from the launch of Vande Bharat Express, PM, Modi also inaugurated a 182 km route of the newly electrified section which will help provide pollution-free transportation with trains running at higher speeds. This will help reduce the running time of the trains. 

Melodies of Bliss, Radiance of Joy on the Faces of School Children, Onboard Assam's first #VandeBharatExpress! pic.twitter.com/9yXEo8ZaOl

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia)

The route, timings, ticket prices and everything you need to know about the Northeast’s first Vande Bharat Express: 

• Running between Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri, the train will complete the journey in 5 hours, 30 minutes. The current fastest train running on the same route takes about 6 hours, 30 minutes for the travel. 

• The Vande Bharat Express will operate six days a week. Being the Northeast’s first Vande Bharat train, it will be West Bengal's third Vande Bharat after the NJP- Howrah and Howrah-Puri trains.

• The newly introduced Vande Bharat Express will travel from New Jalpaiguri to Guwahati and will pass through New Alipurduar, Kokrajhar, New Bongaigaon, and Kamakhya.

• With the arrival of the Vande Bharat Express train in Assam, the travel time between Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri via the region’s fastest train will be reduced by almost an hour.  

• This will be the fastest train in the region providing better transportation facilities to the passengers. The Vande Bharat Express will operate at a speed of 110 km/hr on this particular route, however, it can also reach the speed of 180 km/hr during testing.

• The ticket prices of the train have yet not been officially released by the government. 

A bright sunny day awaits Assam’s first #VandeBharatExpress at Guwahati Railway Station, all set for its maiden run! pic.twitter.com/vM2Uiu8xPA

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia)

Meanwhile, Railway Minister  Ashwini Vaishnaw inspected the Guwahati Railway Station on Sunday, May 28, a day ahead of the inauguration of the Vande Bharat train. The Union minister also inaugurated the Battery-Operated Cart Service at the Guwahati railway station, adding to the convenience for Divyangjan and elder passengers. 

Inspected Guwahati Railway Station. pic.twitter.com/YSUzoc6n07

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw)