Ayodhya will only be two hours away from Lucknow and Gorakhpur once the latest Vande Bharat Express is operational from Sunday (July 9). Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the eight-coach train on Friday.
The train is being launched ahead of the Ram Mandir inauguration in 2024 and before the completion of the airport work at Ayodhya. It will offer better connectivity to two of the biggest temples in Uttar Pradesh – Ram Janmabhoomi and Gorakhnath – and has the potential to become a favoured pilgrimage route.
As of now, neither Gorakhpur nor Ayodhya have Shatabdi or Rajdhani connectivity. And the Vande Bharat will also ensure that Ayodhya and Gorakhpur are well connected, which was not the case before.
Here is all you need to know about the Vande Bharat train service between Lucknow and Gorakhpur:
- The Vande Bharat will complete the journey between Lucknow and Gorakhpur in little over four hours. It will stop at Ayodhya and Basti. Gorakhpur and Lucknow have air connectivity and the train will ease travel for those going to Ayodhya from these cities.
- It will ease travel for those coming in from Lucknow while, on the other side, it will offer better connectivity from another religious hub Gorakhpur. While Ayodhya is well connected with Lucknow, its train connectivity towards Gorakhpur is limited. Only a few trains operate between Ayodhya and Gorakhpur.
- Vande Bharat will offer faster connectivity through Ayodhya as well. Other trains between Lucknow and Gorakhpur mostly take the Gonda route due to faster connectivity. The train distance between Lucknow and Gorakhpur is 310 km through Ayodhya while it is only about 280 km if the Gonda route is taken.
- Vande Bharat with 410 seats in the chair car and 35 seats for executive class charges Rs 1,005 and Rs 1,775, respectively, between Lucknow and Gorakhpur. For the journey between Lucknow and Ayodhya, it charges Rs 1,210 for executive class and Rs 725 for chair car.
- The train will start from Lucknow at 7.15 pm and reach Ayodhya at 9.15 pm and then Gorakhpur at 11.25 pm. On its journey from Gorakhpur, the train will start at 6.05 am and reach Ayodhya at 8.17 am. It will conclude the journey in Lucknow at 10.20 am. It will run six days of the week except Saturdays.
As of now, Gorakhdham Express and Bihar Sampark Kranti Express are the fastest trains between Lucknow and Gorakhpur. These complete the journey in four hours and 45 minutes and both operate all days of the week. They charge Rs 1,255 for AC first class, Rs 760 for AC second class and Rs 555 for AC third class travel.
Gorakhpur, which has the world’s second longest railway platform after Hubli Junction in Karnataka, is the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway (NER). This is the first Vande Bharat for this zone and the second dedicated one for Uttar Pradesh.
India’s first-ever Vande Bharat between Delhi and Varanasi was also the first for Uttar Pradesh. Two more Vande Bharat trains – Delhi-Dehradun and Delhi-Bhopal – have stops in Uttar Pradesh. So far, 23 Vande Bharat trains are operational in India.
Comments
0 comment