By IANS,
Chandigarh: The third Shatabdi Express connecting Chandigarh with New Delhi was flagged off Monday by union Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal here.
With a capacity to seat over 550 passengers, the new train will connect both the cities in three hours and 20 minutes. Unlike the earlier Shatabdi trains, it will have no stops between the two stations. It will run six days a week, except Sundays.
This will be the first Shatabdi train that will originate and terminate at Chandigarh.
So far, Chandigarh and New Delhi are connected by the Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi Express trains. While the first Shatabdi was started Nov 14, 1989, the second one was flagged off July 20, 1994.
After flagging off the new train, Bansal, member of parliament from Chandigarh, told reporters that the introduction of the third Shatabdi Express reflected the growing importance of Chandigarh, a union territory that is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
“The demand for a new Shatabdi had been long pending,” Bansal said.
Chandigarh, which has a population of over one million, is 250 km from the national capital.