PM Modi to flag off Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Exp on Thursday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express on Thursday virtually, a South Eastern Railway official said.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will grace the programme at Puri Station, from where the train will commence its inaugural run, he said on Wednesday.

The Howrah-Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express will be flagged off from Puri at around 1 pm on Thursday by the Prime Minister through the virtual mode, the SER official said.This is the second Vande Bharat Express that West Bengal is getting after the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express.

The train will cover the 500 km distance between Howrah and Puri in around six and a half hours.The regular run of this train will commence from Howrah and Puri on May 20 and it will run six days a week, except for Thursdays. It will depart from Howrah at 6:10 am and reach Puri at 12:35 pm.