Uttarakhand and Northeast India will have their first Vande Bharat trains flagged off in the last week of May.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually flag off the Delhi to Dehradun Vande Bharat on May 25, and bookings for passengers will likely be accepted from May 29. While the current Dehradun Janshatabdi traverses a distance of 305 km in five hours and 50 minutes, it is being claimed that the Vande Bharat will cut travel time by at least an hour.
Another Vande Bharat between Guwahati in Assam to New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal is likely to be flagged off on May 29. The distance between Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri is nearly 400 km and is currently covered in six hours by Rajdhani Express.