PATNA: The railways is gearing up for the commercial run of the Vande Bharat Express after two successful trials between Patna and Howrah on Sunday. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the inaugural run through video conferencing after almost a monthlong wait. This will be the second Vande Bharat Express for Bihar after the introduction of the Patna-Ranchi Vande Bharat on June 27.According to the East Central Railways chief public relations officer (CPRO) Birendra Kumar, the groundwork is ready for the inaugural run of the Vande Bharat on the Patna-Howrah route. "Tracks have been strengthened all along the Patna-Jhajha-Asansol-Howrah mainline route," he said, adding that it will be the fastest direct rail connectivity between Patna and Kolkata.The train will cover a total distance of 535 km in about 6 hours 30 minutes at a normal speed of 90 km per hour.Though railways is working out the exact fare, it is believed to be Rs 2,650 per passenger in the AC executive class and Rs 1,450 in AC chair car per passenger for a single journey with meals/breakfast. According to the Railway Board sources, PM will flag off nine Vande Bharat Express trains on different routes on Sunday. In addition to Patna-Howrah, Vande Bharat Express trains will make inaugural run on the Udaipur-Jaipur, Tirunelveli-Madurai-Chennai, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Vijayawada-Chennai, Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram, Rourkela-Bhubaneswar-Puri, Ranchi-Howrah and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad routes.

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