Rajasthan's 1st Vande Bharat Train

• 14 Apr 2023

Why in News?

On 12 April 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi (via video conferencing), Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Governor Kalraj Mishra inaugurated the state's first Vande Bharat Train at Jaipur Railway Station and flagged off the train.

Key Points

• The first train of Vande Bharat Express for Rajasthan will run between Jaipur to Delhi Cantt Railway Station. The regular service of this train will commence from 13th April, 2023 and will run between Ajmer and Delhi Cantt with stoppages at Jaipur, Alwar and Gurgaon.
• The new Vande Bharat Express will cover the distance between Delhi Cantt and Ajmer in 5 hrs 15 mins. The current fastest train on this route is Shatabdi Express with a travel time of 6 hrs 15 mins from Delhi Cantt to Ajmer. Thus, the new Vande Bharat Express will take 60 minutes less time than the existing fastest train running on this route.
• The Ajmer-Delhi Cantt Vande Bharat Express will be the world's first semi-high speed passenger train on high rise overhead electric (OHE) territory. This train will improve the rail connectivity of major tourist places of Rajasthan including Pushkar, Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The increased rail-connectivity will also give a boost to the socio-economic development in the region.
• This is Rajasthan's first semi high speed train, which will reduce the travel time between Jaipur and Delhi. On this occasion, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged the Railway Minister to connect the headquarters of Banswara, Tonk, Karauli etc. with railway facilities.
• The Chief Minister said that an MoU was signed between the Rajasthan government and the Railway Board for rail service between Dungarpur-Banswara-Ratlam. The foundation stone of the railway line was also laid in Banswara. For the first time, Rs 1250 crore was given by any state government including land for a major rail project. But this work of public interest did not progress further. He urged to give priority to this project.
• The Chief Minister said that in view of the importance of international border and national security, there is a need to construct a new rail line to connect Jaisalmer-Barmer with Mundra and Kandla ports. This new rail line will prove to be very beneficial for the work of the ongoing refinery in Barmer and the development of the western region as per the MoU signed by HPCL, a Central Government undertaking and the State Government.