The Vande Bharat Express, which has been witnessing a passenger occupancy of 120 percent since its launch in January in the state is likely to see the launch of three more trains in Hyderabad soon. The Indian Railways intends to introduce more than 10 Vande Bharat trains around the nation, possibly on lines including Kacheguda-Yeshwantpur (Bengaluru), Secunderabad-Pune, Secunderabad-Nagpur, and Vijayawada-Chennai via Tirupati.
The Nagpur and Bengaluru sections have finished their test runs, and the Pune route is all set to take the place of the Shatabdi Express. After a successful introduction on the Vizag and Tirupati routes, this would bring the Vande Bharat Express count to five.
For these routes, the South Central Railway (SCR) has already updated its rail infrastructure so that trains may travel at a top speed of 130 kmph. As it will link Bengaluru and Hyderabad, two IT centres, the Kacheguda-Yeswantpur Vande Bharat Express is eagerly awaited by passengers.
Currently, superfast express trains require between 10 and 12 hours to travel from Hyderabad to Bengaluru. The expected journey time will be cut to 8.30 hours with the launch of Vande Bharat. The train will leave the Kacheguda railway station at six in the morning and reach Yeshwantpur by 2:30 in the afternoon. The train will leave Yeshwantpur at 3 PM on its return trip and arrive in Kacheguda at 11:30 PM.
The Secunderabad-Pune Shatabdi Superfast Express will be replaced by the Vande Bharat Express. With few stops, Shatabdi now travels from Secunderabad to Pune in 8.25 hours. However, the introduction of the Vande Bharat Express on this route would reduce travel time. The projected trip time for the Nagpur Vande Bharat Express is almost seven hours, which effectively cuts the travel time by nearly 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.
