| Color: | FF7220 |
| Ranchi Junction - Howrah Junction Vande Bharat Express | |
| Type: | Vande Bharat Express |
| Locale: | Jharkhand and West Bengal |
| First: | (Inaugural run) (Commercial run) |
| Operator: | South Eastern Railway (SER) |
| Start: | (RNC) |
| Stops: | 6 |
| End: | (HWH) |
| Distance: | 458km (285miles) |
| Journeytime: | 07 hrs 05 mins |
| Frequency: | Six days a week |
| Trainnumber: | 20898 / 20897 |
| Line Used: | Howrah–Kharagpur line Asansol-Tatanagar-Kharagpur line (Kharagpur-Kotshila) Gomoh-Hatia line (Muri-Ranchi) |
| Class: | AC Chair Car, AC Executive Chair Car |
| Sleeping: | No |
| Catering: | On board Catering |
| Observation: | Large windows in all coaches |
| Baggage: | Overhead racks |
| Otherfacilities: | Kavach |
| Stock: | Mini Vande Bharat 2.0 |
| Gauge: | Indian gauge broad gauge |
| Speed: | (Avg.) |
| Trainlength: | 192m (630feet) (08 coaches) |
| Owners: | Indian Railways |
| Maintenance: | Ranchi Jn (RNC) |
| Map State: | collapsed |
| Electrification: | 25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead line |
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 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 in a travel time of 7 hrs 5 mins with an average speed of . The Maximum Permissible Speed is .