Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express between Varanasi and New Delhi on Saturday.
The 16-coach train will cover the 760-km distance in nine hours and 30 minutes, operating six days a week with stops at Prayagraj, Kanpur Central, Aligarh and Ghaziabad.
The overnight service reduces travel time from Varanasi to New Delhi by 55 minutes compared with the existing Shiv Ganga Express.