HYDERABAD: In a significant development for rail passengers in the northern part of the State, the Union government is set to introduce the Vande Bharat Express between Secunderabad and Nagpur. This new train route will cover the erstwhile districts of Warangal, Karimnagar, Adilabad, and certain parts of Maharashtra.
Railway authorities have already conducted a trial run of the Vande Bharat Express on this route and have deemed it suitable for regular operations. Currently, the journey from the twin cities to Nagpur takes approximately 8.30 hours. However, during the trial run of the Vande Bharat Express, the journey time was reduced to over 6 hours without any stoppages.
Taking into account the scheduled stops, the expected journey time is estimated to be around 6.30 hours, effectively reducing the travel time by almost 2 hours. The Secunderabad-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express is anticipated to have stops at Kazipet, Ramagundam, Mancherial, Sirpur Kagaznagar, and Balarshah. This initiative is part of the government’s plan to introduce the Vande Bharat Express on the Bengaluru, Pune, and Nagpur routes.
The response from passengers for the existing Secunderabad-Vizag and Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express trains has been overwhelmingly positive. This has resulted in consistently high patronage, exceeding 130%, for the Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express in both directions. In response to the demand from passengers, Indian Railways has decided to double the number of coaches in the train, increasing the composition from 8 coaches to 16 coaches. Additionally, the railway divisions, including Secunderabad, Hyderabad, and Vijayawada, have been instructed to upgrade their infrastructure to support the maintenance of Vande Bharat trains. They have also been directed to expedite preparedness and training for the maintenance of Vande Bharat train sets.
Furthermore, the Centre is considering replacing the Secunderabad-Pune Shatabdi Superfast Express with the Secunderabad-Pune Vande Bharat Express. The Shatabdi Express currently completes the journey from Secunderabad to Pune in 8.25 hours, with limited stops. The introduction of the Vande Bharat Express on this route would bring its advanced features and amenities to this popular rail connection.
The indigenously developed Vande Bharat Express boasts of numerous features, including a GPS-based passenger information system, automatic sliding doors, reclining seats, CCTV cameras, diffused LED lighting and charging points beneath every seat.