One month after allegations of a Gujarat bias following halts for the Vande Bharat train at Valsad and not at Palghar in Maharashtra, the train has now got another halt in Gujarat — this time at Navsari, just 30 km away from Valsad. mid-day had carried a front-page report about the premium train getting a halt at Valsad a month ago. Starting August 23-24, the Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express will stop at Navsari (NVS) — a station barely 29 km from Surat and 39 km from Valsad.

Activist Speak

“This marks the fourth new halt in Gujarat in just three years — Vapi, Valsad, Anand, and now Navsari. So, Western Railway has gifted four halts to Gujarat in just three years, but Palghar district’s 140 km stretch remains ignored despite stronger revenue. This means there are clustered halts in Gujarat and a 140 km gap in Maharashtra. Each of these new halts lies unreasonably close to existing stations, with Valsad being 24 km from Vapi, Navsari 29 km from Surat and 39 km from Valsad, and Anand at 35 km from Vadodara. In effect, within just 68 km in Gujarat (Surat-Navsari-Valsad), passengers now have three halts,” Palghar commuter activist Himanshu Vartak said.