PM Modi launches Ranchi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express, services to start from March 18

Ranchi: Jharkhand on Tuesday got another Vande Bharat Express train, which will be operated between state capital Ranchi and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

The train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually from Ahmedabad along with the unveiling of several other railway projects in the state and across the country.

The PM also flagged off the Hatia-Asansol Express and inaugurated the Ranchi-Bondamunda railway line.

Stalls under the 'One Station One Product' scheme at Ranchi, Hatia, Govindpur Road, Itki, Muri, Piska, Silli, Tangarbasuli, Tatisilwai stations, Barkakana, Ranchi Road and Pradhan Khanta stations were also inaugurated by the PM.

The PM also inaugurated Gatishakti Cargo Terminals at HURL Sindri in Dhanbad district and North Urimari in the Barka-Sayal area of Central Coalfields in Ramgarh district.

The regular run of the Ranchi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express will begin on March 18, senior divisional commercial manager of Ranchi Nishant Kumar told PTI.

The train will run six days a week, excluding Thursday, and will complete the 571 km distance in seven hours and fifty minutes. The fare between Ranchi and Varanasi will be Rs 2,325 for the Executive AC Chair Car, and Rs 1,160 for AC Chair Car without a meal.

The train will depart Ranchi at 5.10 am and reach Varanasi at 1 pm. While returning, it will leave Varanasi at 4.05 pm and reach Ranchi at 11.55 pm. It will have stops at Muri, Bokaro Steel City, Koderma, Gaya, Sasaram and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction, a statement said.

The state's first Vande Bharat Express, which operates between Ranchi and Patna, was flagged off on June 27, 2023, while the second Vande Bharat Express between Ranchi and Howrah was flagged off on September 24 last year.