PM Modi flags off Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged off the Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express train here.

PM Modi, who arrived in the city, flagged off the service from Secunderabad Railway station.

He boarded the stationary train at the railway station and interacted with school children.

This is the first Vande Bharat Express of India connecting Tirupati -- a city in Andhra Pradesh which is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples. This is India's 13th Vande Bharat Express which will run between Secunderabad in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati.

The new semi-high speed train connects the IT city Hyderabad with Tirupati. This is the second Vande Bharat train to start from Telangana within three months.

The Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express has stops at Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole, and Nellore stations while it covers its 660 km journey between the cities.

The train will cut the commuting



time between the two cities by almost three and a half hours. Besides, it takes less than a minute or 52 seconds for the train to touch at a speed of 100 kmph.

The new Vande Bharat Express is equipped with CCTV cameras, power backup, GPS-based information systems and vacuum toilets.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Secunderabad Railway Station.

The train will make travel seamless for those visiting the spiritual city of Tirupati from Hyderabad. The Secunderabad to Tirupati Vande Bharat will depart at 6 am and reach the destination (Tirupati) at 2:30 pm. The train will cover the whole distance in 8 hours and 30 minutes, which is much less as compared to the 12 hours taken by most of the existing services.

The Vande Bharat Express 2.0 offers various superior and aircraft-like travelling experiences. It is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System - KAVACH.