Bhubaneswar: The trial run of Tata-Berhampur Vande Bharat Express, the fourth semi-high-speed train for Odisha, was successfully conducted Sunday. According to East Coast Railway officials, the Vande Bharat left Tatanagar Junction in Jharkhand at 5:20am and arrived at Banspani at 7:45am, and Keonjhar at 8:20am, where people had gathered in large numbers to catch a glimpse of the train. It reached Berhampur station at 2:30pm during the trial run. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to flag off Tata-Berhampur Vande Bharat Express September 15 during his proposed visit to Jharkhand.
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Sources further said that the train is expected to take nine hours and ten minutes to cover 586km after leaving Tatanagar at 5:20am and arrive in Berhampur at 2:30pm with halts at Banspani, Nayagarh, Keonjhargarh, Harichandanpur, Jakhapura, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road and Balugaon. In the return journey, it will leave Berhampur at 3pm and reach Tatanagar at 11:55pm the same day. It will run six days a week except Tuesdays. People of Keonjhar are happy with the timings of the train as it will leave Bhubaneswar at 5pm and arrive in Keonjhar at 8pm on its return journey, making it easier for them to travel to the twin cities for medical and other works, the sources added. In March, the PM had flagged off Odisha’s third Vande Bharat Express train, connecting Visakhapatnam with Bhubaneswar. The state’s second semi-high-speed train service was inaugurated on Puri–Rourkela route in September 2023 and the first between Puri and Howrah in May of that year.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
