The Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express was launched in September. But it is facing a shortage of passengers. It is running with about 25 percent occupancy. This train with 20 rakes has a seating capacity of 1,440 passengers. Now there is a plan to replace it with an eight-coach rake.
Vande Bharat Express: More than 50 Vande Bharat trains are currently running in the country. But many of these trains are not getting passengers. This includes Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat. There is a plan to replace this 20 coach Vande Bharat Express, which is running at a low occupancy of about 25%, with an 8 coach rake. It will be replaced after the new consignment of Vande Bharat trains arrives. This train was launched on 19 September this year. But except for the eight days of Diwali holidays, it never ran with full occupancy. Officials of Nagpur Division Central Railway say that a proposal to divide the train into two parts has been sent to the Mumbai Headquarters. It is proposed to run one of these trains on the Secunderabad section and one on some other section. Senior officials said that they have also proposed to change the departure time from Nagpur from the current 5 am to 7 am. Speaking to TOI, Central Railway chief public relations officer (CPRO) Dr Swapnil Neela said there is a proposal to replace the current Vande Bharat rake. Since the coaches cannot be separated, we will have to replace it with eight coaches, which can be extended as per requirement.
What is the problem
Vande Bharat trains can have 8, 16 or 20 coaches depending on the route and the number of expected passengers. An 8-coach rake may be a better option for Nagpur-Secunderabad. The standard 16-coach train has two executive class coaches and 14 chair car coaches. The Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat has 20 rakes and has a seating capacity of 1,440 passengers. Officials say that 20-coach Vande trains can be especially useful on routes that are often crowded.
Officials said that the final decision on which route to run the Nagpur-Secunderabad train will be taken by the Railway Board. Brij Bhushan Shukla, member of the Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC), believes that running an 8-coach Vande Bharat train would be a wise decision considering the number of passengers in the last three months. Being the fastest train (130 kmph) on the Secunderabad route, it has immense potential to become the preferred mode of transport for commuters, provided the timings are adjusted.
Started in September
This train with numbers 20101-20102 started its commercial operation on September 19. This train runs six days a week except Tuesday. It leaves Nagpur at 5 am and reaches Secunderabad at 12.15 pm. The train covers this distance in 7.15 hours. On the return, it leaves Secunderabad at 1 pm and the train reaches Nagpur at 8.20 pm. ZRUCC member Satish Yadav says that many trains run between Nagpur and Hyderabad/Secunderabad during the day, due to which the departure time of 5 am is less liked by the passengers. He suggests that the railways should advance the departure time by at least two hours to attract passengers.
Yadav also said that Vande Bharat takes 7.15 hours to reach Secunderabad, while Rajdhani and other mail/express trains take only 8.5 to 9 hours. Therefore, passengers are not willing to leave another train and come to Vande Bharat. Basant Shukla, a member of ZRUCC, suggests that the train should depart from Nagpur at 8 am and start its return journey from Secunderabad at 4 pm. He believes that passengers prefer to travel during the day due to the risks associated with bus travel. This schedule will also attract passengers returning from Hyderabad.
