PM Modi to flag off Mahamana Express: From Venetian blinds to LED lights, all you need to know about the train

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the new Mahamana Express from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

The third Mahamana Express will be flagged off via video conferencing at 3.30pm Friday by the Prime Minister.

Railways minister Piyush Goyal would be present in Vadodara in Gujarat, and minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha in Surat, the officials said.

Here’s all you need to know about the train:

Launch

PM Modi will use a remote control to launch India’s third Mahamana Express train that runs from Vadodara to Varanasi. On its inaugural service, the Mahamana Express will run as a special train which will reach Varanasi on Saturday.

Route

The new weekly train will start from Varanasi every Friday and from Vadodara every Wednesday.

The train will stop at Bharuch and Surat in Gujarat; Amalner and Bhusawal in Maharashtra; Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni and Satna in Madhya Pradesh and Chheoki in Uttar Pradesh.

Journey

The 1,531 km journey between the two cities will take 27 hours and 30 minutes at an average speed of 55.7 km per hour, railway ministry officials said.

Features

The features in the Mahamana Express include ergonomically-designed ladders for climbing to upper berths, snack tables for side berths, windows with powered Venetian blinds and roller blinds. The train also has LED lighting across the coaches, special berth indicators-cum-night-light in reserved coaches to assist passengers in boarding the train at night.

The train’s bathrooms are fitted with platform washbasins, bigger mirrors, controlled discharged water tap, an odour control system, exhaust fans and dustbins

Other facilities like fire extinguisher in all coaches, electrically operated chimney in pantry car and stainless steel panelling in luggage compartment have also been provided.

Make in India initiative

The Modi government had unveiled the first Mahamana Express -- named after former Hindu Mahasabha president Madan Mohan Malviya -- as part of the Railways’ Model Rake Project in 2016. The trains currently running are routed from Varanasi-New Delhi and Bhopal-Khajuraho.

The Mahamana Express will have 18 coaches -- one AC 1st class, two 2nd class AC, eight sleeper, four general, one pantry car and two guard brake vans. There is no AC-3 tier coach in the train.

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