Vande Bharat from Bengaluru to Kacheguda to beat Rajdhani Express in time

With an average of 20 trains running from Bengaluru Division to Secunderabad/Kacheguda, the Vande Bharat beats the rest by a mile in terms of time taken.

Vande Bharat (Photo | Express)

BENGALURU: With a travel time of eight-and-a-half hours taken to cover the 609 km distance between Yesvantpur and Kacheguda, the Vande Bharat Express in either direction will be the fastest ever between the IT cities. It beats the Rajdhani in connecting the cities by a whopping 2 hrs and 35 minutes. On the fare front too, its fixed fare makes it a viable option as compared to the Rajdhani which has dynamic pricing depending on the demand.

With an average of 20 trains running from Bengaluru Division to Secunderabad/Kacheguda, the Vande Bharat beats the rest by a mile in terms of time taken, thanks to the route through Dhone and the 110 kmph speed it maintains.

The first commercial run for Train no. 20704 began at 2.45 pm sharp on Monday from Platform One of Yesvantpur railway station with excited and happy passengers on board. A total of 186 tickets out of 526 available had been booked for this train, said a senior official in the commercial department.   

Among those on board were Manoj S, employed as an HR professional at one of the subsidiary units of the Apollo Group. “I frequently commute between Hyderabad and Bengaluru for work and this train is ideal for me. I will definitely be using the Vande Bharat often for my travel.”

Shailesh, a student studying Hindi translation at the University of Secunderabad said, “This is the first time I am traveling by any Vande Bharat. My first impression is that everything seems to be really good and am looking forward to the journey. I paid Rs 1500 for my fare and it feels really worth it.”

How the Vande Bharat compares with the rest;

The fares on thid Vande Bharat Express are: 

YPR to KCG (Tr no. 20704): Chair Car Rs 1540 & Executive Chair:  Rs 2865. 

From KCG to YPR (Tr no. 20703): Chair Car: Rs 1600 & Executive Chair: Rs 2915.

Asked about the time and cost difference when compared with other important trains between the two cities,  Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Administration, Kusuma Hariprasad said, “A comparison with the Rajdhani Express may not be apt as it uses a dynamic fare pricing which is completely based on demand. For tomorrow (Tuesday), these are the fares it offers - AC 3-tier: Rs 1905; AC two-tier: Rs 2585 and First AC: Rs 3190. The Rajdhani takes 11 hours and 5 minutes between Bengaluru and Hyderabad but it takes a different route.”

The Kacheguda Express takes 11 hrs and 20 minutes with fares as follows: First AC: Rs 2380; AC two-tier: Rs 1415 and AC 3-tier: Rs 1005. The Garib Rath takes 12 hours with AC fare fixed at Rs 770 and Chair Car priced at Rs 635.