The Vande Bharat Express trains introduced in South Central Railway last year had a high number of passengers in December 2023. Currently, there are four Vande Bharat trains running on the SCR jurisdiction: Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam, Secunderabad – Tirupati, Kacheguda – Yesvantpur (Hyderabad – Bangalore), and Vijayawada – MGR Chennai Central. All these trains have been successful with over 100% occupancy since their inaugural run.
The Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express, which was introduced in January last year with 16 coaches, has consistently operated with over 100% occupancy. In December 2023, the occupancy of Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam was at 134%, while Visakhapatnam – Secunderabad Express had 143% occupancy. Similarly, the Secunderabad – Tirupati VB Express has consistently operated with full occupancy since April this year, and in December 2023, the occupancy was at 114%, while Tirupati – Secunderabad Express had 105% occupancy.
The Kacheguda – Yesvantpur VB Express, which started its commercial operation in September, has also become popular with an occupancy rate of 107% in December 2023. In the return direction, the Yesvantpur – Kacheguda Express had an occupancy rate of 110%. The same goes for the Vijayawada – MGR Chennai VB Express introduced in September, which has gained recognition by connecting Tirupati. The occupancy of this train was registered at 126%, while MGR Chennai – Vijayawada Express had 119% occupancy.
In addition to these services, another Vande Bharat Express has been introduced in SCR from Jalna to Mumbai CSMT, and its regular run started on Monday.
SCR General Manager Arun Kumar Jain stated that this reflects the immense popularity of India’s indigenous semi-high-speed train introduced in various routes across the zone.
