Narendra Modi to flag off Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18, on 15 February from New Delhi Railway station

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off India’s first engineless train, the Vande Bharat Express, on 15 February from the New Delhi Railway station, a senior official of the ministry told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_5659961” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] India’s first locomotive-less train, Train 18. ANI[/caption] Train 18, which was recently named Vande Bharat Express by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. It became India’s fastest train by hitting speeds of over 180 kilometres per hour during a trial run on a section of the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani route. “The prime minister will flag off the train at 10 am on 15 February and there will be a function, in which he will give a speech as well. It’s a matter of great pride for us as this is the Railways’ first indigenous train,” the official said. The 16-coach train will eventually replace the 30-year-old Shatabdi Express. This train will run between Delhi and Varanasi.