Train 18, India's fastest indigenous train

Train 18, India's fastest indigenous train, renamed Vande Bharat Express

Train 18 will now be known as Vande Bharat Express. It's a train built completely in India by Indian engineers, in a span of 18 months, Piyush Goyal said.

Train 18, India's fastest indigenous train, wil now be known as Vande Bharat Express. The announcement was made by Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday.

While addressing a press conference, Piyush Goyal said, "Train 18 will now be known as Vande Bharat Express. It's a train built completely in India by Indian engineers, in a span of 18 months. It'll ply from Delhi to Varanasi. It is an example that it's possible to make world-class trains under Make in India."

The announcement to rename Train 18 as Vande Bharat Express has come a day after the officials said that its fairs are likely to be around 40-50 per cent higher than the Shatabdi Express.

Officials said they have approached Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking time for the launch by PM Narendra Modi, which is likely after the presentation of the budget.

The first train is slated to run between New Delhi and Varanasi, the Prime Minister's Lok Sabha constituency.

Hinting at the fare of the train, the officials said that it will be almost 40-50 per cent higher than the Executive and Chair Class fares of the Shatabdi Express trains.

The Executive Class fare would be between Rs 2,800 and Rs 2,900 while that of the Chair Car would be between Rs 1,600 and 1,700.

Train-18 will run between New Delhi and Varanasi and it will cover the 755 km distance in eight hours with stoppages at Kanpur and Prayagraj. It will be the fastest train on the route. The current fastest train takes around 11-and-a-half-hours to complete the journey, Piyush Goyal had said.