7 hours 15 minutes: Vande Bharat offers fastest Mumbai-Goa runtime
What's the story
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to flag off the Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat Express virtually at around 11:00am on Saturday.
This will be Goa's first, Mumbai's fourth, Maharashtra's fifth, and India's 19th Vande Bharat train.
It will start operating on Saturday and run on all days except Fridays.
Here's everything you need to know about the much-awaited launch.
Details
Train to have 7 commercial stops
The Vande Bharat Express will run between Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Goa's Madgaon, with seven commercial stops and one technical halt.
These will be Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Khed, Ratnagiri, Kankavli, Thivim, and Roha.
The train will cover a distance of 586km in seven hours and 15 minutes, compared to Tejas Express's eight hours and 20 minutes.
More information
Train will have fully air-conditioned 8 coaches
According to the official announcement, the Vande Bharat train will depart from CSMT at 5:25am and reach Madgoan at 1:15pm.
On its way back, the train will start from Madgoan at 2.35pm and arrive at CSMT at 10:25pm.
The fully air-conditioned (AC) eight-coach train will have a sectional speed of up to 120kmph.
Features
Ticket prices likely to be between Rs. 1,100-2,800
Like other Vande Bharat trains, the Mumbai-Goa one will also have improved safety features and a train collision avoidance system.
It will feature 360-degree rotation seats, automatic sliding doors, LED lighting, and special seating for people with disabilities.
According to reports, ticket prices for an AC chair car and executive class category can be between Rs. 1,100-1,600 and Rs. 2,000-2,800, respectively.