Ranchi Junction - Howrah Junction Vande Bharat Express
Overview
Service type	Vande Bharat Express
Locale	Jharkhand and West Bengal
First service	24 September 2023 (24 September 2023) (Inaugural run) 27 September 2023; 14 months ago (27 September 2023) (Commercial run)
Current operator(s)	South Eastern Railway (SER)
Route
Termini	Ranchi Junction (RNC) Howrah Junction (HWH)
Stops	6
Distance travelled	458 km (285 mi)
Average journey time	07 hrs 05 mins
Service frequency	Six days a week [a]
Train number(s)	20898 / 20897
Line(s) used	Howrah–Kharagpur line Asansol-Tatanagar-Kharagpur line (Kharagpur-Kotshila) Gomoh-Hatia line (Muri-Ranchi)
On-board services
Class(es)	AC Chair Car, AC Executive Chair Car
Seating arrangements	Airline style Rotatable seats
Sleeping arrangements	No
Catering facilities	On board Catering
Observation facilities	Large windows in all coaches
Entertainment facilities	On-board WiFi Infotainment System Electric outlets Reading light Seat Pockets Bottle Holder Tray Table
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks
Other facilities	Kavach
Technical
Rolling stock	Mini Vande Bharat 2.0[broken anchor]
Track gauge	Indian gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead line
Operating speed	65 km/h (40 mph) (Avg.)
Average length	192 metres (630 ft) (08 coaches)
Track owner(s)	Indian Railways
Rake maintenance	Ranchi Jn (RNC)
Route map Legend 20898 ↓ Ranchi Junction Muri Junction Jharkhand West Bengal border Kotshila Junction Purulia Junction West Bengal Jharkhand border Chandil Tatanagar Junction Jharkhand West Bengal border Kharagpur Junction 20897 ↑ Howrah Junction

The 20898/20897 Ranchi - Howrah Vande Bharat Express is India's 31st Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the city of Ranchi in Jharkhand with Howrah in West Bengal.^[1] This train was inaugurated on 24 September 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conference from New Delhi.^[2]

The route of Ranchi-Howrah Vande Bharat train has been diverted. According to the information, now this train will go to Ranchi and come via Howrah, Kharagpur, Midnapore, Adra, Purulia, Muri. The green signal for this has been received from the Railways. Which will be effective on 3 December.^[3]

This train is operated by Indian Railways, connecting Ranchi Jn, Muri Jn, Kotshila Jn, Purulia Jn, Chandil Jn, Tatanagar Jn, Kharagpur Jn and Howrah Jn.^[4] It is currently operated with train numbers 20898/20897 on 6 days a week basis.^[5][6]

It is the twenty-ninth 2nd Generation and seventeenth Mini Vande Bharat 2.0 Express train^{[broken anchor]} which was designed and manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory at Perambur, Chennai under the Make in India Initiative.^[7]

This rake was converted from Blue-White livery to Saffron-Grey livery due to attraction of passengers and better services in terms of more advanced features that were incorporated in the new trainset. This became operational from July 12 2024. ^[8][9][10]

The 20898/20897 Ranchi - Howrah Vande Bharat Express operates 6 days a week, covering a distance of 458 km (285 mi) in a travel time of 7 hrs 5 mins with an average speed of 65 km/h (40 mph). The Maximum Permissible Speed is 130 km/h (81 mph).

• Vande Bharat Express
• Tejas Express
• Gatimaan Express
• Ranchi Junction railway station
• Howrah railway station