LUCKNOW, Aug. 28 -- The Northern Railway has extended the Vande Bharat Express (Train No. 22489/22490), operating between Meerut City and Lucknow, up to Varanasi Junction via Ayodhya Dham with effect from August 27, said railways on Wednesday. The inaugural run of the extended service was flagged off on Wednesday from both Varanasi Junction and Ayodhya Dham by the dignitaries. At Varanasi Junction, the ceremony was attended by Dayashankar Mishra 'Dayalu', minister of state (independent charge) for AYUSH, food safety and drug administration, mayor Ashok Tiwari, MLA Saurabh Srivastava (Varanasi Cantt.), MLC Dharmendra Singh among others. "The move aims to enhance high-speed rail connectivity between Western Uttar Pradesh and Purvanchal, benefiting pilgrims, business travellers, and students alike," said Kuldeep Tiwari, senior divisional commercial manager. Covering a distance of 782.5 km between Meerut City and Varanasi Junction, the train will take 11 hours and 55 minutes. It will run six days a week, excluding Tuesdays, with stoppages at Moradabad, Bareilly, Lucknow, and Ayodhya Dham. Train No. 22490 will depart Meerut City at 6.35am and reach Varanasi Junction at 6.25pm, while Train No. 22489 will leave Varanasi at 9.10am and arrive at Meerut City at 9.05pm. The Vande Bharat Express will offer both AC chair car and executive class coaches. Each executive class coach will seat 52 passengers with 2x2 rotating seats, while chair car coaches will accommodate 78 passengers each. The fare from Varanasi to Meerut City is Rs.2,140 for AC chair car and Rs.3,765 for executive class....