PM in Hyd on 19th Jan: Modi to flag off Sec'bad–Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Hyderabad on 19 January to flag off Vande Bharat Express from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam. He will also launch several railway development projects worth Rs. 2,400 crores.

This will be the Prime Minister's second visit to the state. He last visited Telangana in November 2022 to launch development projects worth Rs. 9,500 crores in Ramagundam.

The developmental works to be launched by the Prime Minister include:

· Modernising the Secunderabad railway station at a cost of Rs. 700 crores.

· Doubling the railway line between Secunderabad and Mahabubnagar at a cost of Rs. 1,231 crores.

· Works on the Kazipet railway coach workshop for Rs. 521 crores.

While laying the foundation stone for the modernisation of the Secunderabad railway station, Mr. Modi will also remotely launch the Kazipet railway coach overhauling workshop works.

On Monday, Bharatiya Janata Party Telangana unit president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay, along with BJP parliamentary party board member and Rajya Sabha member Dr. K. Laxman visited the Secunderabad railway station to see the arrangements for the Prime Minister's visit.

Speaking to the media, Bandi Sanjay said, "Mr. Modi made an uncompromising stand on protecting the interests of Telangana. The Central government has already taken up national highway development in the state at a cost of Rs. 1.04 lakh crores, taking Telangana to the no. 2 position in the country." He further said the road network between villages and towns was being developed under PM Sadak Yojana and the Modi government has taken up the river-linkage project.

"I hope these programmes will be an eye-opener to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders who have launched false propaganda against the Centre and the Prime Minister," the BJP state president said.

First Vande Bharat train in AP/TS

The Prime Minister will formally flag off the Vande Bharat Express train from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam, reducing the travel time between the two stations by three-and-a-half hours. The train would initially run from Secunderabad to Vijayawada and then extended to Visakhapatnam. The train will likely run on the lines of the Janmbhoomi Express, reducing the travel time to 8 hours from 12–14 hours.

This will be the sixth train on the Secunderabad–Visakhapatnam route.

According to sources, the officials are also looking at possibilities to extend Vande Bharat train services to Tirupati. If the train runs from Secunderabad–Tirupati, it will reduce time and passenger rush from Vijayawada. Vande Bharat trains are currently running on the New Delhi–Varanasi, New Delhi–Katra, Mumbai Central–Gandhinagar, New Delhi–Amb Andaura, and MGR Chennai Central–Mysuru routes.

Features of Vande Bharat

· AC train with 16 coaches with a capacity of 1,128 seats.

· The train has an intelligent braking system that enables better acceleration and deacceleration.

· Vande Bharat trains can reach a speed of 0–100 km per hour in 52 seconds, with a top-up speed of 180 kmph.

· All coaches are equipped with automatic doors, GPS-based audio-visual passenger information systems, and Divyanga-friendly facilities.

· Hotspot wifi on board for entertainment purposes.

· Executive class has rotating chairs.

· Bio-vacuum model toilets.

· Pantry facility will serve meals and beverages.