PM Modi to flag off India’s 1st Vande Metro renamed as 'Namo Bharat Rapid Rail' service in Gujarat

India’s first Vande Bharat metro renamed as Namo Bharat Rapid Rail will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The first service run of the train will start on September 17.

 The Namo Bharat Rapid Rail will run between Bhuj and Ahmedabad covering a distance of 360 km in just under six hours. 

The train is capable of running at a maximum speed of 110 km per hour and will stop at Anjar, Gandhidham, Bhachau, Samakhiali, Halvad, Dhrangadhra, Viramgam, Chandlodiya, Sabarmati, and Kalupur stations.  

The Ahmedabad to Bhuj train will depart from Ahmedabad at 5:30 pm on all days except Saturday and reach Bhuj at 11:10 pm. It will start running from September 17.

The Bhuj to Ahmedabad train will depart from Bhuj at 05.05 am every day except on Sunday and reach Ahmedabad at 10:50 am and will run from September 18. 

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The train has seating arrangements for 1,150 passengers and can accommodate up to 2,058 standing passengers.  

The train will have 12 air-conditioned coaches with centrally controlled automatic sliding doors, modular interiors, continuous LED lighting, toilets with vacuum evacuation, route map indicators, panoramic windows, CCTV, phone charging facilities, and automatic smoke/fire detection with alarm system and aerosol-based fire extinguishing system. 

According to the Railway Ministry, Vande Metro’s modular design includes ejector-based vacuum evacuation toilets which differentiates it from traditional suburban trains and metro coaches. 

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The ministry said that Namo Bharat Rapid Rail will boast of advanced safety systems like KAVACH for collision avoidance, fire detection, and aerosol-based fire suppression, along with emergency lights. 

Additionally, PM Modi had also flagged off the 20.8 km corridor of Ahmedabad Metro Phase-II.

Extension of the North-South Corridor from Ahmedabad Metro Phase I. Comprises a 22.8 km Mainline from APMC to Mahatma Mandir and a 5.4 km Branch Line from GNLU to GIFT City. There are 20 stations on the main line and 2 stations on the Branch Line. The total project cost is Rs. 5,384.17 crore.

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