Nine more Vande Bharat trains to be introduced ahead of Diwali

PUNE: In view of the anticipated rush of passengers during the festive season, the Indian Railways is planning to introduce nine additional Vande Bharat trains on different routes ahead of the upcoming Diwali.

According to a report by a publication, it is speculated that three of these high-speed trains will likely be introduced on the Central Railways network.

As per the information received, the proposed routes for these new trains could potentially be Mumbai to Kolhapur, Mumbai to Jalna, and Pune to Secunderabad. These routes will enhance connectivity and convenience for passengers in these regions. 

The Indian Railways has also announced that it will soon introduce a new Vande Bharat Express, which will be the 35th one. This new train will connect Tatanagar in Jharkhand with the spiritual city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

The new Vande Bharat Express will run six days a week and will have an eight-coach rake instead of the 16-coach one. The services of the new train are likely to be inaugurated before Navratri. As per the tentative timetable, the train will have six stoppages which include Tatanagar Jn, Purulia Jn, Bokaro City, Gaya Jn, Pt DD Upadhyaya Jn, and Varanasi Jn. 

It is noteworthy that Varanasi already has the first Vande Bharat Express which connects it with New Delhi and has the highest average speed among all the Vande Bharat Express trains that operate in the country. Currently, 34 Vande Bharat Express trains operate, connecting various parts of the country.

The forthcoming Vande Bharat Express will operate six days a week and will consist of an eight-coach formation, as opposed to the previous 16-coach configuration. The inauguration of this new train is anticipated to take place prior to the Navratri festival.

According to the provisional timetable, the train will make six scheduled stops, including Tatanagar Junction, Purulia Junction, Bokaro City, Gaya Junction, Pt DD Upadhyaya Junction, and Varanasi Junction. 

The new Vande Bharat Train will commence its journey from Tatanagar Junction at 6 AM, arriving at Varanasi Junction at 1.50 PM, covering a distance of 574 kilometers in a duration of 7 hours and 50 minutes.

On the return journey, the train will depart from Varanasi Junction at 2.35 PM and arrive at Tatanagar Junction at 10.00 PM. Earlier this year, the Minister of Railways, Vaishnaw, alluded to a potential overhaul in the cleaning process of India’s esteemed trains.

With this initiative, the Indian Railways intends to extend the efficient cleaning mechanism to all trains once its effectiveness and functionality have been thoroughly established.

Madhupriya Dhanwate