PM Modi flags off two Vande Bharat Express trains in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off two Vande Bharat trains from Mumbai to Shirdi and Solapur.

At an event at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai, Modi first flagged off the CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat Express and later another semi-high-speed train linking the financial capital to Sainagar Shirdi temple town in Ahmednagar district.

The Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express will cover the 455 km distance between Mumbai and the textile city in 6 hours and 30 minutes, a saving of nearly one hour in current timings.

The Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express will take 5 hours and 25 minutes to cover the 343 km distance to the temple town.

The one-way fare without catering service on the CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat train will be Rs 1,000 for chair car and Rs 2,015 for executive chair car, while the fares for the two classes with catering will be Rs 1,300 and Rs 2,365 respectively, a CR official said.

The one-way journey ticket without catering service for CSMT to Sainagar Shirdi will be Rs 840 and Rs 1670 for chair car and executive chair car respectively, while the ticket prices with catering service will be Rs 975 and Rs 1840 respectively.

This is Modi's second visit to the city in less than a month. On January 19, the PM inaugurated and laid foundation stones for infrastructure and healthcare projects worth more than Rs 38,000 crore in Mumbai.

His visit assumes significance in view of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls.