By Martin Shwenk Leade
Copyright indiatimes
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday confirmed that the Vande Bharat Sleeper trains will be launched once the second train is ready for regular service.Officials said one train has already completed trials and testing at Shakur Basti Coaching Depot in Delhi and is ready for launch. The second train is currently under manufacture and is expected to be ready by October 15, 2025.”Both the trains will be launched together,” Vaishnaw told the media, stressing the importance of the second rake to maintain continuity in regular services. “That’s why we are waiting for a second rake. Once we get it, we will decide any route and start operations,” he added.There is speculation that the new Vande Bharat Sleeper services could run between New Delhi and Patna, with Bihar preparing for state elections later this year.Vaishnaw, accompanied by Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, also briefed the media on the status of ongoing and upcoming railway projects in Punjab. Among these is the 18-kilometre Rajpura-Mohali line, which will connect the region to Chandigarh via the shortest route on the Ambala-Amritsar main line. The new link is expected to reduce travel distance by around 66 kilometres, provide direct connectivity between Rajpura and Mohali, and ease traffic on existing routes including Rajpura-Ambala and Ambala-Morinda.Live EventsThe Railway Ministry has also proposed a new Vande Bharat train connecting New Delhi and Firozpur Cantonment, stopping at Faridkot, Bhatinda (W), Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala Cantonment, Kurukshetra, and Panipat stations. The service is projected to cover 486 kilometres in 6 hours and 40 minutes. “I will request the Prime Minister to approve the Firozpur-Delhi Vande Bharat train,” Vaishnaw said.The ministers highlighted nine key railway projects commissioned after 2014, including the Nangal Dam-Daulat Pur Chowk line (61 km, Rs 672 crore), and the doubling of several lines such as Chakki Bank-Bharoli (3 km, Rs 15 crore), Jakhal-Mansa (45 km, Rs 163 crore), JUC-SuchiPind (4 km, Rs 24 crore), Ambala-Chandigarh (45 km, Rs 338 crore), Mansa-Bhatinda (49 km, Rs 216 crore), Amritsar-Chheharta (7 km, Rs 31 crore), Jalandhar-Jammu Tawi (211 km, Rs 850 crore), and Rajpura-Bathinda (173 km, Rs 2,459 crore).Seven railway projects are currently under execution, including the Nangal Dam-Talwara new line (123 km, Rs 2,018 crore), Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri new line (63 km, Rs 6,753 crore), Ferozpur-Patti new line (26 km, Rs 300 crore), and the doubling of Mansa-Bhatinda (80 km, Rs 449 crore), Ludhiana-Kila Raipur (17 km, Rs 238 crore), Ludhiana-Mullanpur (21 km, Rs 295 crore), and Alal-Himmatana (13 km, Rs 174 crore) lines.Vaishnaw also noted that 30 stations are being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat station redevelopment scheme.Highlighting operational achievements, he added that 29 rail divisions, including Malda, Mysore, Sialdah, Nagpur, and Trivandrum, have achieved 90 per cent punctuality.With inputs from PTIAdd as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
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Read More News onVande Bharat Sleeper trainsRailway Minister Ashwini VaishnawVande Bharat train launchNew Delhi Patna train serviceVande Bharat service updatesFirozpur Cantonment train serviceIndian Railways projectsPunjab railway projectsAmrit Bharat station redevelopmentRailway punctuality achievements
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(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onVande Bharat Sleeper trainsRailway Minister Ashwini VaishnawVande Bharat train launchNew Delhi Patna train serviceVande Bharat service updatesFirozpur Cantonment train serviceIndian Railways projectsPunjab railway projectsAmrit Bharat station redevelopmentRailway punctuality achievements(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online….moreless
