WATCH: PM Modi flags off northeast's first Vande Bharat Express in Assam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday flagged off the inaugural run of Northeast’s first Vande Bharat Express in Assam. The train will run between Guwahati in Assam and New Jalpaiguri Station in West Bengal and is said to boost tourism in the region.

PM Modi said the Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri (NJP) Vande Bharat Express will enhance connectivity in the region.

Northeast gets its first Vande Bharat Express today. It will boost tourism, enhance connectivity. https://t.co/6DpRIeQUjg

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 29, 2023

Four times growth in Railways budget for Northeast

In his address at the flagging off event of Vande Bharat Express, PM Modi said: "Before 2014, Railway’s budget for North East was Rs 2,500 Crore. Now it is more Rs 10,000 crore, which is four times growth. All parts of the Northeast will soon be connected via the broad-gauge network. Rs 1 lakh crore is being spent on the same."

The PM further said that the Vande Bharat Express will boost business and tourism by connecting key destinations such as Kamakhya Temple, Kaziranga Sanctuary, Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam, Shillong and Cherrapunji in Meghalaya, and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

From Look East to Act East

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the flagging off of northeast’s first Vande Bharat Express was a matter of happiness. "Earlier it was 'Look East' but now it is 'Act East'," he added.

#WATCH | Guwahati: It is a matter of happiness that PM Modi will flag off the Northeast's first Vande Bharat Express today. Earlier it was 'Look East' but now its 'Act East': Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw pic.twitter.com/MFXMRiG8iy

— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2023

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called it a proud moment for the state and thanked PM Modi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the Vande Bharat Express train which will connect Assam and West Bengal.

#WATCH | Guwahati: It's a proud moment for us that PM Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express today. It will connect Assam and West Bengal. I thank PM Modi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pic.twitter.com/nri5OufZrV

— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2023

Guwahati-NJP Vande Bharat Express

Northeast’s first Vande Bharat Express will connect Guwahati with New Jalpaiguri and help save about an hour of journey time, compared with the current fastest train connecting the two places.

Vande Bharat will cover the journey in 5 hours and 30 minutes, while the current fastest train takes 6 hours and 30 minutes to cover the same journey.

प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi ने आज नॉर्थ ईस्ट को अपनी पहली मेड इन इंडिया 'वंदे भारत एक्सप्रेस' की सुनहरी सौगात दी।

इससे लोगों का सफर आसान होगा, पर्यटन को बढ़ावा मिलेगा और लोगों को रोजगार मिलेगा। pic.twitter.com/8dKLKQNkm2

— BJP (@BJP4India) May 29, 2023

However, for West Bengal, this is the third Vande Bharat after the Howrah-NJP Vande Bharat Express and the Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express.

Timings of Guwahati-NJP Vande Bharat Express

The Guwahati-NJP Vande Bharat Express (Train No-22228) will depart from from Guwahati at 16:30 (4:30 pm) and will arrive in NJP at 22:00 (10:00 pm) after covering a distance of 409 kilometres.

Halts/stoppages of Guwahati-NJP Vande Bharat Express

The train will stop at Kamakhya (16:40-16:42), New Bongaigaon (18:35-18:36), Kokrajhar (18:56-18:57), New Alipurduar (19:48-19:49), New Coochbehar (20:02-20:03), before culmiating at NJP.

Timings of NJP-Guwahati Vande Bharat Express

The NJP-Guwahati Vande Bharat Express (Train No-22227) will start from NJP at 6:10 am and will reach Guwahati at 11.40 am.

Halts/stoppages of NJP-Guwahati Vande Bharat Express

The train will stop in New Coochbehar (07:35-07:36), New Alipurduar (07:50-07:51), Kokrajhar (08:40-08:41), New Bongaigaon (09:13-09.14), Kamakhya (11:18-11:20), before arriving in Guwahati.

The train will operate on all days of the week except on Tuesday.

With inputs from agencies

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