Vande Bharat Express train connecting Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam during its flagging off ceremony, in Secunderabad on January 15, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI
South Central Railway (SCR), which is likely to get another Vande Bharat train heading towards Pune, has announced that the existing four Vande Bharat trains have witnessed full occupancy in December 2023.
The Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express, which was introduced in January 2023 with 16 coaches, has been running consistently at full occupancy. In December 2023, the occupancy of the Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam train was 134%, while that of the Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad Express was 143%.
The Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express with eight coaches introduced in April 2023 has also been consistently witnessing full occupancy since its introduction. Owing to the demand, the number of coaches was enhanced to 16 from May 17, 2023.
The occupancy of the Secunderabad-Tirupati Express in December 2023 was 114%, while that of the Tirupati-Secunderabad Express was 105%. The Kacheguda-Yesvantpur Vande Bharat with eight coaches introduced in September 2023 saw 107% occupancy in December 2023. In the return direction, the Yesvantpur-Kacheguda Vande Bharat saw 110%. occupancy.
The Vijayawada-MGR Chennai Vande Bharat introduced in September 2023 with eight coaches gained special recognition by connecting Tirupati enroute. The occupancy of this train was 126%, while the MGR Chennai-Vijayawada Vande Bharat registered 119% occupancy.
The Vande Bharat trains offer day journeys, with all coaches being air-conditioned chair cars or executive-class coaches. The indigenously developed train has several world-class features like a GPS-based passenger information system, automatic sliding doors, reclining seats, CCTV cameras in all coaches, diffused LED lighting, charging points beneath every seat etc., providing better riding comfort and more safety features.
Meeting the demands of the passengers is the top priority of the Railways, and all efforts will be taken to meet the aspirations of passengers. The Vande Bharat trains running to full capacity shows the popularity of the service, said SCR general manager Arun Kumar Jain in a release.
