Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Mumbai-Solapur and Mumbai-Sainagar Vande Bharat Express from Mumbai on Friday. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were also present during the event.
With the commissioning of the two trains, the number of Vande Bharat Express trains running from Mumbai will increase to three, taking the number in the country to 10. The first Vande Bharat train in Maharashtra connected Mumbai to Gujarat's Gandhinagar.
"There was a time when MPs used to write letters for arrangements for trains to stop at stations in their areas, for a 1-2 minute stoppage. Now, when the MPs meet, they demand a Vande Bharat in their area. This is the craze of Vande Bharat trains today", said PM Modi after flagging off the trains in Mumbai.
Last month, Prime Minister Modi virtually canceled the operation of the 8th Vande Bharat Express between Secunderabad in Telangana and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The intermediate stops planned for the train include Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry.