Bengaluru: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to flag off India’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper service between Howrah and Guwahati later this month, Bengaluru will also get three new long-distance trains to West Bengal, including an Amrit Bharat Express to Alipurduar.This will be the second Amrit Bharat Express to Bengaluru after the one connecting to Malda in West Bengal, which was allocated in 2023 when these trains were initially introduced. A cost-effective adaptation of the popular Vande Bharat, the Amrit Bharat Express is designed for cheaper and comfortable long-distance travel. According to the timetable released by the Railway Board Thursday, the weekly train will originate from Bengaluru’s Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal on Saturday and reach Alipurduar on Monday. The service will start from Alipurduar on Monday and reach Bengaluru on Thursday. Two other weekly trains notified are from SMVT to Balurghat and Radhikapur in West Bengal. These trains, according to the initial tentative plan, were allocated Amrit Bharat coaches, but were later changed to normal express trains. Amrit Bharat trains have specially designed WAP-5 locomotives and can travel at a maximum speed of 130kmph, like superfast trains. Featuring 22 non-AC coaches, they include a significant number of unreserved coaches along with reserved sleeper compartments. These trains, with CCTV cameras, fireproof seats, a water bottle stand, charging points, and pantry car facilities, can carry more than 1,800 passengers on a single route. While welcoming the three additional trains to West Bengal, commuters said connectivity to other states should also be emphasised. “All the routes now announced towards West Bengal see great demand from the migrant population. While it is great that those travelling to South India from states like West Bengal and Odisha, like me, will benefit, I feel states like Bihar and Jharkhand also need more services,” said Ansuman Sathapathy, from Odisha.
