The Prime Minister will inaugurate this train through video conference from Jalandhar, Punjab. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the newly constructed Jalandhar Advanced Railway Station on the same day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the second Vande Bharat Express train on July 17. This new premium train is called ‘Sant Ravidas Express’ which will connect the religious city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh with Amritsar (Chheharta) in Punjab.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate this train through video conference from Jalandhar, Punjab. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the newly constructed Jalandhar Advanced Railway Station on the same day. Following approval by the Railway Board, the official timetable for this train has also been released.
Train route and schedule
According to the Railway Board letter, this train will run between Chheharta and Varanasi with numbers 14624 and 14623. Instead of 7 days a week, this train will run for 3 days only.
Train No. 14624 (Chheharta – Varanasi)
- Days: every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
- Departure (Chehart): 14:05.
- Arrival Amritsar: 14:25 (5 minutes layover).
- Arrival Lucknow: next day at 07:30.
- Arrival at Varanasi (destination): next day at 12:15.
Train No. 14623 (Varanasi – Chheharta)
- Days: Every Thursday, Saturday and Monday
- Departure (Varanasi): 19:05.
- Lucknow Arrival: 12:10.
- Arrival Amritsar: 16:35 the next day.
- Arrival at Chheharta (destination): 17:10 the next day.
There will be stops at these main stations.
This train will connect many important business and religious centers of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The main stops along the route will be Amritsar, Jalandhar City, Ludhiana, Ambala Cantt, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Lucknow, Sultanpur and Jaunpur City. The initial maintenance of the train will be carried out at Chheharta station in Punjab.
Religious tourism and business will get a big boost
The launch of Sant Ravidas Express will not only strengthen rail connectivity between Punjab and Uttar Pradesh but will also give wings to religious tourism between the two states.
Both Varanasi (Kashi) and Amritsar (Golden Temple) are the two largest spiritual centers of the country. Moreover, for millions of followers of Saint Ravidas Ji living in Punjab, traveling to his birth place Varanasi (Sir Govardhanpur) will now be extremely affordable, comfortable and time saving. Moreover, it will also provide great ease of transportation to students, businessmen and working people.