Purvanchal Express - Poorvottar ka Sikandar

I did not get the time to post this, but recently I got the chance to be the part of inaugural run of India's 11th and MP's 1st also the 1st to hit 160kmph, 20197 Rani Kamlapati-Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express. Inaugural train was upto NDLS. I was part of this inaugural journey end to end, and it was all, it was exciting, it was exhausting and much more than this it was the sheer Happiness. People of Bhopal specially we RFs were not at all expecting this, this came as a surprise and shocks to many. After rumors and news of various routes getting the 11th rake, it was Bhopal who bagged this. And not only the 11th one but the 1st in MP too which was earlier rumored to be JBP-INDB VB (This will get reality too in coming future) and that too with a top speed of 160...
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kmph which was the highest in VB and only the 2nd train in whole IR to do so, so naturally we were Happy and Proud at the same time. However it doesn't got the TT which everyone was expecting but still the hope is that someday this will get revised and maybe this will become the Fastest Train of India, a title which was held by its predecessor Bhopal Shatabdi for a very long time....

Coming to the inaugural journey, I was excited and also bit scared because just a day before I had a very crucial task to be completed at my work, I was thinking that I might not be able to make it, but I completed it and I reached RKMP at 12:30 PM.

There I saw a huge bunch of people waiting to get the glimpse of the new sensation, there were so many RFs from different regions across the country and also Youtubers, Vloggers and Many Media Representative all trying to capture this prestigious Event..

Souvenir tickets were provided to us along with some goodies to make this journey memorable. I am thankful to CPRO WCR to let me be a part.

We boarded the train and the excitement and energy within the coach was exceptional, We all were chatting discussing and giving bytes to TV and Print Media, I gave few 1 of which aired on TV and then my parents and friends called me to tease ki Celebrity ban gaya ladka...

We were waiting for our PM Modi Ji to give flag off this asap, but he got bit delayed, but Finally at 4 PM in evening PM along with RM Mr Ashvini Vaishnav Ji, flagged off this train and off we go..and the scenery outside was just flabbergasting, there were thousands of people on tracks, roofs, boundary walls, bridges, flyover just to see this VB starting its 1st run..whentrain reached BPL, it was like a flood of people, there was not even a single area where their isn't a human.

The evening snacks were loaded from BPL, it was from Manohar Restaurant which is 1 of the most famous food place in Bhopal, the snack was cold (due to delayed program) but was super tasty. We departed after 5 minutes halt and now its time to check the speed, train entered Nishatpura Yard at 30 kmph and leave it at 120 kmph, the acceleration was super, VB touched 130 kmph in WCR effortlessly.

This inaugural special was meant to halt at so many places and everywhere people were welcoming it with open arms, and because of this only our train gets delayed at every station. Passengers boarded this train from every halting station just to see this from inside, many did journey for just 1 station.

Dinner was loaded from Jhansi and served at Gwalior, dinner was also cold and I thought that it could be much better than this, Paneer was Ok, Mix Veg was little better, Rice and Dal were much better.

We all were tired due to excessive shouting and all but now we were all just waiting to train to enter the AGC-NZM section to witness the wrath of VB, it was when we departed RKM the heartbeat starts rolling, we crossed Billochpura at 130 kmph and by every second the speed was increasing 140, 150, 155, 157, and when it touched 160 the coach train came alive again, it did hit 163 at few points but the main happiness was that it became the 1st ever VB to do so.

The acceleration and deacceleration was outstanding for this, VB was picking the 100 to 160 kmph so effortlessly that even if you are standing the coach, you will not feel it inside. But yes something happened which spoiled the whole 160 kmph run, near Hodal C14 was hit by an unknown object when train was running at 160 kmph and the LPs applied the emergency break and kudos to the VB design the passengers inside were just as stabled as they were at 160 kmph and let me tell, the braking was so sudden that the train halted within seconds, the pressure valve, water tank and some more equipment were damaged in this incident, we halted there for an over an hour technicians tried to resolve the issue but could not make it and from there our train was restricted at 60 kmph till NDLS. and All of us were now just waiting to reach destination anyhow, all excitement vanished after this we all were extremly tired and sleepy

We finally reached NDLS at 3:35 AM which is around 4 hours behind the actual schedule, but even at this late in Night the excitement in Delhi to welcome this was on another level, there were Dhol playing at NZM and NDLS and people were showering flowers on LPs, TTE, Staff and passengers who were part of this journey. We were tired but happy specially me, I was really waiting for this VB to get introduced ever since the inception of 1st VB rake rollout which was rumored to replace Bhopal Shatabdi at the time, but it did not happened, since then I and many such Bhopali RFs were eagerly looking for this day to arrive and it did, and I am glad that I was onboard on the very 1st journey along with many RFs who were as excited and as passionate as I was for this, even it is not the fastest VB yet in terms of avg speed but IMO argubly this is the most infamous VB of IR which raised the eyebrows of many and who knows maybe it can become the fastest 1 day...

This is the longest blog I have ever written on IRI, be with me on this and try to read and give your thoughts on this, at last I am sharing my review for the 1st journey with some pics that I clicked and borrowed from Hardik Pathak (Pics are not in order)

Train Review
Comfort 4.5/5
Stability 6/5
Speed 7/5
Ride Qualilty 5/5
Food 3/5
Punctuality: NA because it was inaugural run
Washroom 4/5
Safety 5/5