Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Wednesday, has said that the trial run for the Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Katra has been completed. The train would make its debut on the route during the festival of Navaratri which is starting on September 29.

Piyush Goyal tweeted, “I am very glad to inform that modern 'Make In India' product, the second Vande Bharat Express has completed its trial run between New Delhi and Katra (holy place of Goddess Vaishno Devi). The train will start for the passengers in Navaratri. Jai Mata Di."

Here is the Railway Minister's tweet: 

READ | DK Shivakumar asks his supporters to not visit him in New Delhi

40 such trains with sleeper class versions to be ready by 2022

The second Vande Bharat Express, which will run on the high traffic Delhi-Katra route, will begin operations before the festival season, Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav said on Tuesday, adding that 40 such trains with sleeper class versions will be ready by 2022. While the Delhi-Katra train will have modifications like more comfortable seats and pantry space, the others, for which the bidding process will begin next month, will weigh less, consume lesser energy, and will be fit for sleeper coaches, Yadav said. "The Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express has completed all trials and will be run before the festival season begins from October," he said.

READ | Delhi: Serial offender 'James Bond 007' gets arrested in New Delhi

The high-speed train, which currently offers only chair car service, will bring down the travel time between Delhi and Katra, the last station on the way to the Vaishno Devi temple, to eight hours from the present 12 hours. The first Vande Bharat Express or Train 18 was launched on the Delhi-Varanasi route. Piyush Goyal also shared a list of 35 railway stations where the Wi-Fi service was made available, on Tuesday. He also mentioned about the Bio-toilets. He tweeted that last week, 1,155 Bio-toiles were installed, raising the total number to 2,22,336 in 62,222 coaches.

READ | Pakistan spooked at EAM Jaishankar's PoK intent, terms it 'rhetoric'