Nirmala Sitharaman takes a ride on Vande Bharat from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram

The Union Minister said that it was the first time she boarded the semi-high-speed train since its launch in September 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Taking to social media platform X, Sitharaman said, "Taking a ride on #VandeBharat from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram. Vande Bharat was introduced by @PMOIndia @narendramodi in September 2022. It is after a year that I have the opportunity to travel to one of them. Being popular, the train runs fully booked. Well done @RailMinIndia."

https://twitter.com/nsitharaman/status/1728055014935924936

Earlier in September this year, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey took a ride on the Howrah-Patna Vande Bharat Express train.

Dubey was accompanied by fellow party MP SS Ahluwalia and Chief Public Relations Officer, Eastern Railway, Kaushik Mitra during the indigenous train's maiden journey.

The first Vande Bharat Express which was flagged off by the Prime Minister, ran between New Delhi and Varanasi.

Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the train set symbolises the 'Make-In-India' initiative and showcases India's engineering prowess.

The project to manufacture indigenous semi-high-speed train sets began in mid-2017, and within 18 months, the ICF Chennai completed Train-18.

India's first semi-high-speed train was renamed Vande Bharat Express in January 2019 to emphasize its made-in-India status. The train achieved a maximum speed of 180 kmph on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section. (ANI)