PM Modi to virtually flag off Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat service from Ayodhya on Saturday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pic/PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the inaugural run of the Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express through video link on Saturday, the Central Railway has said, reported news agency PTI.

The CR said in a release on Friday that PM Modi will virtually flag off the 8-coach service while addressing a function at the redeveloped Ayodhya Dham railway station in Uttar Pradesh. He will also flag off two Amrit Bharat and five other Vande Bharat services between different cities, reported PTI.

In its inaugural run, the 02705 Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat train will tentatively depart from the city in the Marathwada region at 11am and will arrive in the metropolis at 6:45 pm, reported PTI.

As per the release, the train will halt at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad, at 11:55 am, Manmad Junction at 1:44 pm, Nasik Road at 2:44 pm, Kalyan Junction at 5.06 pm, Thane at 5.28 pm and Dadar at 5.50 pm before proceeding to CSMT in Mumbai, reported PTI.

In its regular run from January 1, the train will leave CSMT at 1:10 pm and reach Jalna at 8:30 pm, while from January 2, it will depart from Jalna at 5:05 am and reach CSMT at 11:55 am, reported PTI.

Central Railway, however, has not given details of the fare structure of the new service, which will run on all days except Wednesday, reported PTI.

Addressing a press conference, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Neeti Sarkar of Nanded division, of which Jalna is a part, said the service will connect important cities like Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Nashik to areas like Thane and Mumbai, reported PTI.

"It will boost visits to sites like the Rajur Ganapati Temple in Jalna, Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga along with Ajanta and Ellora Caves in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Shirdi near Manmad. The train, with 530 seats, will take 6 hours 50 minutes to cover the distance, which will be of great convenience to people," Sarkar said, reported PTI.

While Jalna has a thriving steel sector, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has MSME hubs as well as the upcoming AURIC industrial city, reported PTI.

Sarkar said the train has a "black box" like those in aircraft which will record the activity in the driver's cab. It will be vital for probes into any untoward incident, including accidents, she added, reported PTI.

The train will have one Executive Chair Car and seven Chair Cars, reported PTI.

It is Maharashtra's 7th Vande Bharat service, six of which are operated on the CR network. It will be the 5th Vande Bharat service to run from Mumbai, as per the CR release, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)