HYDERABAD: The Vande Bharat Express, which has been witnessing a passenger occupancy of 120 per cent since its launch in January in the State, is likely to see the launch of three more trains in Hyderabad soon. The Indian Railways is planning to launch over 10 Vande Bharat trains across the country and it may include routes such as Kacheguda - Yeshwantpur (Bengaluru), Secunderabad - Pune, Secunderabad- Nagpur and Vijayawada - Chennai via Tirupati.
Trial runs have been completed on the Nagpur and Bengaluru sections, while the Pune route, is likely to replace the Shatabdi Express. This will increase the Vande Bharat Express count to five after the successful launch on the Vizag and Tirupati routes. The South Central Railway (SCR) already upgraded its rail network on these routes for the trains to run at a maximum speed of 130 kmph. Passengers are eagerly awaiting for the launch of Kacheguda - Yeswantpur Vande Bharat Express as it will connect two IT hubs: Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
Currently, the journey from Hyderabad to Bengaluru takes around 10 to 12 hours on superfast express trains. However, with the introduction of Vande Bharat, the travel time is estimated to be reduced to 8.30 hours. The train will commence its journey from Kacheguda railway station at 6 AM and arrive at Yeshwantpur by 2:30 PM. On its way back, the train will commence from Yeshwantpur at 3 PM and reach Kacheguda by 11:30 PM.
Indian Railways is planning to replace the Secunderabad - Pune Shatabdi Superfast Express with Vande Bharat Express. Shatabdi currently takes 8.25 hours from Secunderabad to Pune with limited stops. However, the introduction of the Vande Bharat Express on this route would reduce travel time. With regards to the Nagpur Vande Bharat Express, the estimated journey time is around seven hours, effectively reducing the travel time by almost two hours.
The Secunderabad-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express is anticipated to have stops at Kazipet, Ramagundam, Mancherial, Sirpur Kagaznagar, and Balharshah. The Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Vijayawada depots will be upgraded for the upkeep of Vande Bharat trains.