At 130kmph, new train starts journey to Mumbai; trip to become faster soon

Platform number 9 of Ahmedabad’s Kalupur railway station had never been so decked up.

The red carpet remained laid out from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have alighted from the train, the rest of the platform wearing a grey carpet to match with the colour of the cement on the other platforms.

Fifty-year old Purnima Parekh and her son, Karan (22) had booked themselves on a 6 am Shatabdi from Mumbai to land at Ahmedabad to board the upgraded Vande Bharat Express that was flagged off by Modi from Gandhinagar on Friday.