Next week, 13 trains, including the nation's first Vande Bharat sleeper train, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ten of these will come from West Bengal, which is scheduled to hold elections, while the remaining three will come from Assam, which will also hold elections.
Modi will launch six Amrit Bharat trains from Malda and a Vande Bharat sleeper train from Howrah to Guwahati on January 17. He will also speak at a public gathering. He is expected to launch three Amrit Bharat trains from West Bengal and two from Assam the next day.
According to officials, so many trains would be flagged off from West Bengal in such a short amount of time for the first time in recent years.
All regions of the nation north, south, and west will be served by the Amrit Bharat trains departing from West Bengal. According to an official, "Amrit Bharat trains offer the best comforts to passengers and are the most affordable for the poor and middle class."
One Amrit Bharat train is scheduled to run between Guwahati and Rohtak (Haryana) and another between Dibrugarh and Lucknow.
- New Jalpaiguri-Nagercoil
- New Jalpaiguri-Tiruchirappalli
- Alipurduar-Bengaluru
- Alipurduar-Panvel
- Balurghat-Bengaluru
- Radhikapur-Bengaluru
- Santragachi (Kolkata)-Tambaram
- Howrah-Anand Vihar (Delhi)
- Sealdah-Banaras
The prices for each service will shortly be announced by the zonal railways, according to a railway official. The fact that so many contemporary trains are being flagged off from West Bengal is interpreted as a sign that the government is eager to upgrade the state's transportation system.
