Prime Minister Narendra Modi Flags Off Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat; Reduces Travel Time By Over An Hour

In a major boost to Tamil Nadu's rail infrastructure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express today (8 April). The train is expected to significantly reduce travel time between the two cities, with a journey time of just 5 hours and 50 minutes.

The PM flagged off the inaugural special at a ceremony held at the Dr MGR Chennai Central Railway Station. The train comes equipped with modern features and passenger amenities, including divyang-friendly washrooms, seat handle numbers in Braille script, LED lights, and 360-degree rotatable seats.

According to an official release, the train is equipped with advanced safety features such as an indigenous automatic train protection system called 'KAVACH', CCTV cameras in all coaches, and automatic sliding doors. The Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express is the fastest train to connect the two cities, and it is expected to save passengers more than an hour of journey time.

He also inaugurated the new broad gauge section between Thiruthiraipoondi and Agasthiyampalli and flagged off an express train between Tambaram and Sengottai.

The ceremony was also attended by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, Chief Minister MK Stalin, and Union Minister of State L Murugan.

(With inputs from PTI)

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