PM Modi To Launch New Delhi-Varanasi Saffron-Coloured Vande Bharat Today

The second Vande Bharat train between Varanasi and New Delhi, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off at 2:15 pm on Monday, is saffron in colour and has multiple new features, a statement issued by the Northern Railway (NR) said.

"This is the second saffron colour Vande Bharat train which the Railway Ministry is going to launch in the country," a source in the Railway Ministry informed.

The Northern Railway, with its press statement, also shared a photo of the train in saffron colour.

Besides, the NR said: "The train has superior passenger amenities such as onboard Wi-Fi infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, plush interiors, bio-vacuum toilets with touch-free conveniences, diffused LED lighting, charging points beneath every seat, individual touch-based reading lights and concealed roller blinds." "It has better heat ventilation and air-conditioning system with UV lamp for germ-free supply of air. The intelligent air-conditioning system adjusts the cooling according to the climate conditions/occupancy," the statement said.

On December 18, its inaugural run from Varanasi to New Delhi will take place at 2:15 pm.

However, in normal course, the train will start at 6:00 am from Varanasi to New Delhi for six days a week except on Tuesday.

The train will reach New Delhi at 2:05 pm and depart for Varanasi after 55 minutes at 3:00 pm. It will reach its destination station at 11:05 pm.

The first Vande Bharat train, which currently runs between New Delhi and Varanasi, starts from Delhi at 6:00 am and reaches its destination station at 2:00 pm.

It departs for New Delhi at 3:00 pm and reaches the destination at 11:00 pm. It runs six days a week except Thursday.

The Railways launched its first saffron-grey colour Vande Bharat train on September 24 between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

It was one of the nine Vande Bharat trains that the prime minister flagged off on September 24 in a video conference.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a recent interaction with journalists had also dismissed the notion that there is any politics behind launching orange or saffron-coloured Vande Bharat trains, saying the choice of colours was informed by scientific thought.

"For human eyes, two colours are supposed to be the most visible -- yellow and orange. In Europe, almost 80 per cent of trains have either orange or a combination of yellow and orange," Mr Vaishnaw had said.

According to Mr Vaishnaw, there are many other colours, such as silver, which are bright like yellow and orange, but "if we talk about it from the point of view of visibility to the human eye, these two colours are considered to be the best".

Mr Vaishnaw asserted there is no politics behind the colour of Vande Bharat trains and it is a 100 per cent scientific thought.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)