Four Vande Bharat Express trains introduced in the South Central Railway last year have been consistently recording high patronage of 100 per cent and above

Hyderabad: Four Vande Bharat Express trains introduced in the South Central Railway last year have been consistently recording high patronage of 100 per cent and above. Data on the Vande Bharat occupancy in the month of December shows these services to logging in high patronage that even went up to 143 per cent.

The SCR officials said Vande Bharat occupancy reflected the enormous popularity of India’s semi-high speed train introduced in various routes. The Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam VB Express with 16 coaches has been consistently operating with more than 100 per cent occupancy and in December 2023, it was at 134 per cent, while Visakhapatnam to Secunderabad Express was 143 per cent !

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The Secunderabad to Tirupati VB express which was introduced with eight coaches, due to high demand had the number of coaches increased to 16. The occupancy of Secunderabad to Tirupati Express in December 2023 was 114 per cent and 105 per cent in return.

Establishing Vande Bharat connectivity between Hyderabad and Bengaluru, the Kacheguda to Yesvantpur VB Express with eight coaches gained quick popularity and it’s occupancy was at 107 per cent in December 2023 and 110 per cent in return direction.

In the SCR, Vijayawada to MGR Chennai VB Express with eight coaches also gained special recognition by connecting Tirupati and recorded occupancy of 126 per cent.

The Vande Bharat Express train offers a day journey with sitting accommodation in AC Chair Cars and Executive Class coaches. The indigenously developed train has several features like a GPS-based Passenger Information System, automatic sliding doors, reclining seats, CCTV cameras, diffused LED lighting, charging points beneath every seat, etc.

Vande Bharat occupancy in December 2023

* Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam: 134%

* Visakhapatnam – Secunderabad: 143%

* Secunderabad – Tirupati: 114%

* Tirupati – Secunderabad: 105%

* Kacheguda – Yesvantpur: 107%

* Yesvantpur – Kacheguda: 110%