PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the inaugural special of South India’s first Vande Bharat Express at Krantiveera Sangolli Railway station here.

The train connects Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru. This is the fifth Vande Bharat Express train in the country.

It will enhance connectivity between the industrial hub of Chennai, the tech-cum-startup hub of Bengaluru and the famous tourist city of Mysuru, officials said.

The Prime Minister said, “The Chennai-Mysuru Vande Bharat Express will boost connectivity as well as commercial activities. It will also enhance ‘Ease of Living’.”

Vande Bharat Express is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System - KAVACH. It can pick up a speed of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in just 52 seconds, and a maximum speed of up to 180 kilometres per hour. The country’s first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off in 2019 on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.

On Friday, the Prime Minister also flagged off the ‘Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan’ train, which is operated by Karnataka’s Muzrai Department, under the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ train policy of Railways. “It (Bharat Gaurav train) will fulfill the dream of numerous travellers intending to undertake Kashi Yatra,” according to the South Western Railway. The train offers a eight-day tour package at discounted rates for pilgrims.