BHUBANESWAR: Puri-Rourkela Vande Bharat Express will be flagged off on Sunday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through videoconferencing from New Delhi.

This will be the second Vande Bharat train in Odisha which will connect Western Odisha with the coastal region.A function will be conducted at Bhubaneswar railway station for flagging off the train in the presence of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries.

Modi will also flag off eight Vande Bharat Express trains from other places in the country.This premium service will offer the fastest rail connectivity between Puri and Rourkela and run six days a week except Saturday.

Maintenance of the train will be done at Puri.

This semi high speed train will cover the distance of 505 km in 7 hours and 45 minutes from Puri to Rourkela.The Puri-Rourkela Vande Bharat Express (20836) will depart Puri at 5am and will reach Rourkela at 12.45pm on the same day.

In return direction, Rourkela-Puri Vande Bharat Express (20835) will depart Rourkela at 2.10pm and reach Puri at 9.40pm on the same day.The train will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Rairakhol, Sambalpur City and Jharsuguda between Puri and Rourkela.

It will be the fastest train on this route.Now three trains run between Puri and Rourkela daily.

While Puri-Rourkela Express covers the route in 15 hours 45 minutes, Puri-Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express and Puri-Hatia Tapaswini Express take 11.50 hours and 10.25 hours respectively.Two trials of the train have been conducted before its flagging off.

“This new Vande Bharat Express train has a lot more improved and enhanced amenities and features for the comfort of the passengers.

These features were improved and introduced based on the feedback taken from the passengers,” said the East Coast Railway (ECoR) official statement issued on Saturday.On May 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Vande Bharat Express from Puri to Howrah.

It was the first Vande Bharat train to run in Odisha.