Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday flag off nine Vande Bharati trains connecting religious and tourist destinations in 11 states.
The nine trains will provide faster connectivity to 11 states - Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Gujarat.
The Prime Minister will announce the trains through a video conference.
The new Vande Bharat trains run between Udaipur - Jaipur; Tirunelveli-Madurai-Chennai; Hyderabad - Bengaluru; Vijayawada - Chennai (via Renigunta); Patna - Howrah; Kasaragod - Thiruvananthapuram; Rourkela - Bhubaneswar - Puri; Ranchi - Howrah; and Jamnagar-Ahmadabad.

These trains are a step towards realizing the Prime Minister's vision of improving connectivity across the country and providing world-class services to rail passengers, an official statement said. "Vande Bharati trains are the fastest trains on their operating lines and help save passengers' time significantly," it said.
Compared to the current fastest trains on the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar - Puri and Kasaragod - Thiruvananthapuram route, the Vande Bharati trains will reduce the travel time between the respective destinations by approximately three hours; Hyderabad - Bengaluru over 2.5 hours; Tirunelveli-Madurai-Chennai more than 2 hours.

The travel time between Ranchi - Howrah and Patna - Howrah and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad will be reduced by about an hour compared to the fastest trains currently available between these destinations.
Travel time between Udaipur and Jaipur is reduced by about half an hour.
Rourkela-Bhubaneswar-Puri and Tirunelveli-Madurai-Chennai trains connect the important religious cities of Puri and Madurai. Vijayawada - Chennai Vande Bharat Express also operates on the Renigunta route and provides connectivity to the pilgrimage center of Tirupati.
The introduction of these Vande Bharati trains will take rail transport in the country to a new level, the statement said.
Equipped with world-class amenities and advanced safety features including Kavach technology, these trains are a major step in providing modern, fast, and comfortable travel options to common people, professionals, businessmen, the student community, and tourists, he added.