NewDelhi: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday shared a video of the Vande Bharat Express zooming past at a lightning speed. India’s first semi-high speed train, Vande Bharat Express has been built under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet ‘Make in India’ initiative.
“It’s a bird…It’s a plane…Watch India’s first semi-high speed train built under ‘Make in India’ initiative, Vande Bharat Express zooming past at lightening speed,” he tweeted.
However, soon after the Railway Minister’s tweet, Congress claimed that the video has been doctored and edited to show the high speed.
In what looked like a reply to the criticism over the train’s speed, Goyal tweeted another video of the Vande Bharat Express zooming past a station. “All are welcome to witness its speed and record its inaugural run between New Delhi and Varanasi,” Goyal posted another video in tweet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express on 15 February from the New Delhi Railway station. Train 18, which was recently named as Vande Bharat Express by Goyal, has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. It became India’s fastest train by hitting speeds of over 180 kmph during a trial run on a section of the Delhi-Rajdhani route.
The 16-coach train will replace the 30-year-old Shatabdi Express and will run between Delhi and Varanasi.
As per a report by news agency, meals on board the train will not be optional for passengers unlike in premium trains such as Shatabdi, Rajdhani and Duronto express, where travellers can choose not to take catering services. However, passengers travelling the last leg on the route of the semi-high speed train — Allahabad to Varanasi — will have the choice of opting out of the meals provided by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), in advance while booking their tickets.
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