The Indian Railways has announced that the Banaras-Agra Vande Bharat will begin regular service on Monday, September 23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off the train a week ago, on September 16, 2024.
The eight-coach Vande Bharat train is expected to complete the journey from Agra to Banaras in seven hours. Ashok Kumar, the public relations officer of the Varanasi division of North Eastern Railway (NER), announced the train's schedule.
The Vande Bharat train numbered 20175, is scheduled to leave Banaras station at 3.20 pm and reach its final destination, Agra Cantonment, at 10:20 pm. It will reach the following stops at these times:
Prayagraj at 4.50 PM
Kanpur Central at 6.57 PM
Etawah at 8.17 PM
Tundla at 9.32 PM
Agra Cantt at 10.20 PM
Meanwhile, the returning train numbered 20176 will depart from Agra Cantonment at 6 AM and reach Banaras at 1 PM. It will make stops at the given times at the following places:
Tundla at 6.48 AM
Etawah at 7.40 AM
Kanpur Central at 9.15 AM
Prayagraj at 11.25 AM
Banaras station at 1 AM
The public relations officer further informed that the train will run on all days of the week except Friday. The fares of the Vande Bharat train's chair car and executive class coaches will be decided soon.
PM Modi virtually flagged off six Vande Bharat trains on September 16. These trains have been designed to enhance religious tourism in the area by offering a quicker way to travel to pilgrimage destinations such as Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar (Jharkhand), the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Kalighat, and Belur Math in Kolkata (West Bengal).
The Prime Minister also distributed sanction letters to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) in Tatanagar, Jharkhand, and released the first instalment of financial assistance for the trains.
