All you need to know about the Howrah-NJP Vande Bharat Express

The much-anticipated Howrah-NJP Vande Bharat Express reached Howrah Station on Tuesday afternoon and since then it has been the centre of attraction. The luxury train, with more than 1,100 seating capacity, will soon run between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri and would take less than eight hours for the journey. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express service from Howrah to New Jalpaiguri on December 30. Even though the timing and the fare have not been finalised, the Indian Railways' officials guaranteed that it would be a completely different experience. “With a number of new features, the train would run at an average speed of 100 kmph to 130 kmph and would halt only at Bolpur and Malda. This is why the train will be able to complete the 12-hour journey in about 7.30 hours,” said a railway official. Out of the total 16 coaches, two are drivers’ coaches, two are executive coaches and the rest are normal chair cars. Each of the normal chair cars (in picture) will have a total of 78 seats in two rows. Specially designed tables are one of the major attractions. My Kolkata took a tour of the train on Tuesday

One of the major attractions of the executive coaches is the revolving chairs. The seating arrangement is two-by-two. The recliner seats have snack tables folded in the armrests. This will be the first Vande Bharat Express to operate in West Bengal and also in the eastern parts of the country. The service will run six days a week

Instead of any live kitchen, several food-storage facilities are a part of the train. With deep freezers, hot cases and bottle coolers, the travellers would be able to enjoy snacks and drinks during their eight-hour journey

The spacious driver’s cabin is filled with cutting-edge technology. Ten motormen were sent to Ghaziabad for training before the train begins operating. 25 train examiners have also been trained for the maintenance of the Vande Bharat Express at the Integral Coach Factory(ICF) in Chennai

The spacious toilets, available in both Indian and western styles, have been designed to facilitate quick drying and hence a better user experience. An e-information board will keep the passengers posted about the occupancy status of the toilets during the journey

In case of an emergency, passengers can use the hammer to break the windows, which are made of extra toughened glass