Vande Bharat Express runs on three routes till now.

(file photo)

The country's fourth Vande Bharat Express train will now reduce the distance to Delhi for the people of North India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate this train from the national capital to Una in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday.

Although the start date and fares of the regular operation are yet to be announced, the report said that it will run on every day of the week except Wednesday.

Vande Bharat Express will leave Amb Andaura in Una district at 1 pm and will halt at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, a major Sikh holy city.

It will reach Chandigarh at 3.35 pm.

At the same time, this train will reach Delhi at 6.25 pm, which will reduce the train travel time by half an hour between the combined capital of Punjab and Haryana and the national capital.

At present, Shatabdi Express trains take about three and a half hours to travel between Chandigarh-Delhi.

The journey from Amb's origin station to Delhi will be just five and a half hours.

On the reverse route, it will start from Delhi at 5.50 am, reach Una at 10.34 am and will end at Amb Andaura at 11.05 am.

It can run at a maximum speed of 180 kmph.

It is an improved version of the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat trains, also being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speeds in a shorter duration.

"It accelerates to 100 km/h in just 52 seconds. The introduction of the train will help boost tourism in the region and provide a comfortable and fast mode of travel," the note said.

Vande Bharat trains currently run on Delhi-Katra (Jammu) route apart from Delhi-Varanasi and Gandhinagar-Mumbai.

Apart from flagging off the train from Una, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of a bulk drug park - a pharma manufacturing hub - at Haroli in Una district, which will be built at a cost of over Rs 1,900 crore.

"This is expected to attract investment of around ₹10,000 crore and provide employment to over 20,000 people," the government note said.

PM Modi will also dedicate "Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Una to the nation."

Its foundation stone was laid by the PM in 2017.

Presently more than 500 students are studying in this IIIT.

Elections are to be held in Himachal Pradesh later this year.

PM Modi had last month flagged off the Vande Bharat Express in another election state of Gujarat, which was from Gandhinagar to Mumbai.

It was launched for the first time in 2019.