PM Modi flags off India’s fastest train Vande Bharat Express

Murli Manohar Joshi (second left), PM Modi (centre) and Piyush Goyal (right) pay tribute to the CRPF jawans who were killed in Pulwama attack | Praveen Jain/ ThePrint

Train 18 or Vande Bharat Express which will cover the journey from New Delhi to Varanasi in nine hours and forty-five minutes, was flagged off by Narendra Modi Friday at New Delhi Railway station. Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high speed train that can run up to 160 kmph, and it aims to provide a new travel experience to passengers with better facilities.

Let’s look at the images clicked by Praveen Jain at the inaugural function of Vande Bharat Express.

Modi steps out of Train 18

Prime minister Narendra Modi emerges from Train 18 after a tour | Praveen Jain / ThePrint

Piyush Goyal greets Murli Manohar Joshi

Railway minister Piyush Goyal (standing) said that the train’s inauguration a day after a terror attack in Pulwama was a befitting reply to terrorists | Praveen Jain / ThePrint

Modi through the looking glass

The prime minister congratulated the engineers behind Vande Bharat Express | Praveen Jain / ThePrint

The first journey

The train driver salutes PM Modi before starting Train 18’s first journey | Praveen Jain / ThePrint

Comfortable seats and pensive looks

An image of ‘comfortable seats’ on the express train flashes behind a grim Narendra Modi, who is flanked by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi (3rd from left) and union minister Piyush Goyal (extreme right). | Praveen Jain/ ThePrint