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Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off three new Vande Bharat trains on Saturday to enhance connectivity on three routes -- Meerut-Lucknow; Madurai-Bengaluru; and Chennai-Nagercoil and to save the time of commuters on these routes.  

PM Modi flagged off the three state-of-the-art Vande Bharat Express trains at 12.30 P.M. catering to the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

The Meerut City-Lucknow Vande Bharat will help passengers save around one hour compared to the current fastest train between the two cities.

Likewise, the Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil and Madurai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat trains will cover the journey saving more than two hours and around 90 minutes, respectively.

“The introduction of these new and fast trains will herald a new standard of rail service to meet the needs of regular travellers, professionals, and business and student communities in immense measure,” the PMO said.

India's first-ever indigenously designed and manufactured, semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains provide a modern and comfortable rail travel experience to the passengers.

The Vande Bharat trains have a faster acceleration and semi-high speed operation up to 160 KMPH. They are fitted with the anti-collision device KAVACH and have a fully-sealed gangway for free passenger movement with automatic plug doors.

"Indian Railways has introduced as many as 772 additional train services, including 100 Vande Bharat trains, on its network from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.

The total funds utilised so far for manufacturing Vande Bharat trains amount to Rs 1,343.72 crore.

These trains have been introduced to provide a better travel experience to the passengers, with modern coaches having enhanced safety features and amenities, the Railway Minister said.

"To cater to the travelling needs of different segments of passengers, Indian Railways introduces and operates different types of services viz. express trains, superfast trains, passenger/MEMU/DEMU trains and suburban services. Introduction of train services is an ongoing process of the Indian Railways subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, and availability of resources,” he added.