Indian Railways to launch 4 new Vande Bharat Express trains
What's the story
The Indian Railways is gearing up to launch four new Vande Bharat Express trains, expanding the country's semi-high-speed long-distance train services. The new routes will connect Bengaluru with Kochi, Firozpur Cantt with Delhi, Varanasi with Khajuraho, and Lucknow with Saharanpur. The move is part of the government's plan to improve rail connectivity across Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.
Route details
Bengaluru-Kochi route
The schedule for the new Bengaluru-Kochi Vande Bharat Express has been finalized. Train number 26651 KSR Bengaluru-Ernakulam Junction will leave Bengaluru at 5:10am and reach Ernakulam Junction at 1:50pm. It will halt at Krishnarajapuram, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Palakkad, and Thrissur. The return journey will start from Ernakulam Junction at 2:20pm and arrive in Bengaluru by 11pm. This would be Kerala's third Vande Bharat service after Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru routes.
Additional services
Firozpur Cantt-Delhi route
The Firozpur Cantt-Delhi Vande Bharat Express will cover a distance of 486km in 6 hours and 40 minutes, running six days a week except Wednesdays. It will stop at Faridkot, Bathinda, Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala Cantt, Kurukshetra, and Panipat. The train number 26462 Firozpur Cantt-Delhi will leave Firozpur Cantonment at 7:55am and reach Delhi by 2:35pm. The return service, 26461 Delhi-Firozpur Cantt, will depart from the capital city at 4pm for an arrival time of around 10:35pm.
Route expansions
Varanasi-Khajuraho and Lucknow-Saharanpur routes
The Varanasi-Khajuraho Vande Bharat Express will cover a distance of 443km in 7 hours and 40 minutes. It will stop at Vindhyachal, Prayagraj Chheoki, Chitrakut Dham, Banda, and Mahoba. The train number 26422 Varanasi-Khajuraho will leave at 5:25am and reach Khajuraho by 1:10pm, while 26421 Khajuraho-Varanasi will depart at 3:20pm for an arrival time of around 11pm. The Lucknow-Saharanpur service will run over 534km in 7 hours and 45 minutes, halting at Sitapur, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Najibabad, and Roorkee.
Enhanced access
Total number of Vande Bharat trains reaches 164
The introduction of these new services will increase the total number of Vande Bharat trains to 164. The move is expected to significantly improve rail connectivity between major cities and regions, making travel more comfortable with improved interiors, safety features like CCTVs in all coaches, emergency alarm push buttons, and talk-back units. Special lavatories for differently-abled passengers have also been included in this expansion plan.