Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the new Vande Bharat train from Ferozepur railway station, halting traffic from Varanasi on Saturday morning as he launched three other Vande Bharat trains.
The Ferozepur-Delhi Vande Bharat train route covers Faridkot, Bathinda, Duri and Patiala in Punjab before entering Ambala in Haryana and continuing onwards. Separate programs are planned at different stations of the route.
In Ferozepur, Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bithu, BJP National Executive Member Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, Punjab BJP Working President Ashwani Kumar Sharma and other BJP leaders were present at the ceremony. While thanking Prime Minister Modi and Vaishnau, Bittu said the long-standing demand of the people of Ferozepur and surrounding areas has finally been met, benefiting travelers and increasing regional trade and connectivity.
Congress MP Sher Singh Gubaya representing Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituency, former Ferozepur city Congress MP Parminder Singh Pinky and several others were also present at Ferozepur Cantonment railway station. They also traveled by train. Bittu, Sodhi and several other leaders are also traveling by train to Delhi on Saturday.
Several politicians were on board Saturday morning. In Patiala, as announced earlier, Congress MP Dharamvir Gandhi will join the event.
The new service was formally announced in September by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and MoS Bittu.
Train schedule
The Vande Bharat train will depart from Ferozepur at 7.55 am and stop at Faridkot, Bathinda, Duri, Patiala, Ambala, Kurukshetra and Panipat before reaching Old Delhi railway station at 2.35 pm. On the return journey, it will depart from Delhi at 4:00 PM and arrive Ferozepur at 10:35 PM. The train will run on all days except Wednesday.
The story continues below this ad
Sodhi said the railways has already expanded its Ferozepur services, citing the Ferozepur-Rameswaram train to be launched in 2023 and the Nanded Sahib and Haridwar services from Ferozepur launched this year, along with the resumption of the Ferozepur-Chandigarh train in June.
Bittu also announced that Train No. 22485 Delhi–Moga Express is now extended to Ferozepur Cantt. The train will travel via Jahal and Ludhiana, arriving at Moga at 2.57 pm, departing at 2.59 pm and arriving Ferozepur Cantt at 3.00 pm. On its return journey, it will depart from Ferozepur Cantt at 3.35 pm and arrive Delhi at 11.35 pm. The official schedule of his extended route has not yet been formed.
