Mapping The Rapidly Expanding Network Of Vande Bharat Trains

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 May virtually flagged the first Vande Bharat train reaching Uttarakhand — which will run between Delhi and Dehradun.

The Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat will be the 17th running train service in the Vande Bharat network, marking a significant progress towards the improvement of the country's railway network and the enhancement of passenger experiences.

The semi-high-speed train will cover the distance between the two cities in just four hours and forty-five minutes, with stoppage at Haridwar, Roorkee, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, and Meerut stations.

The Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat marked the debut of India’s first semi-high-speed train in the coastal state of Odisha.

The train passes through Khordha, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak, and Balasore districts in Odisha and Paschim Medinipur, and Purba Medinipur districts in West Bengal.

With the continuous introduction of new trains in this network, the total number of the indigenously designed Vande Bharat has reached 17 operational services connecting several important cities and towns across the country.

The Beginning

On 18 February 2019, the Vande Bharat Express was inaugurated on its very first route connecting the capital city of Delhi to the holy city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

The New Delhi-Varanasi Junction Vande Bharat Express makes stops at Thyagraj and Kanpur, and covers the distance three hours earlier than other trains on the same route.

New Delhi-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express

On 5 October, 2019, the second Vande Bharat Express commenced commercial operations, providing service from Delhi to Katra in Jammu and Kashmir.

The train makes stops at Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana, and Jammu Tawi. The inauguration of this train was conducted on 3 October, 2019, by Amit Shah, the Minister of Home Affairs.

Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express

On 30 September, 2022, the third train was launched which covers the route from Gandhinagar in Gujarat to the financial capital Mumbai in Maharashtra.

This is the second version (2.0) of Vande Bharat Express with the journey time of under six hours.

New Delhi-Amb Andaura Vande Bharat Express

The fourth train was launched covering the route from New Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh on 13 October 2022.  

MGR Chennai Central-Mysuru Junction Vande Bharat Express

The fifth of the high-speed trains was launched between Chennai and Mysuru on 10 November 2022. This train covers a distance of 479 km with two stops at Katpadi and KRS Bengaluru.

Bilaspur Junction-Nagpur Junction Vande Bharat Express

On 11 December 2022, the sixth Vande Bharat Express train was launched from Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh to Nagpur in Maharashtra. It makes a stop in Raipur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, and Gondia.  

Howrah Junction-New Jalpaiguri Junction Vande Bharat Express

The seventh semi-high-speed trainset between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri was launched on 30 December, giving eastern India its first Vande Bharat train.

The launching of this train in West Bengal is a step towards providing faster connection between state capital Kolkata and northern Bengal.

Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express

The eighth express was launched between Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam on 15 January 2023, connecting Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

It has stoppages at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, and Vijayawada stations in Andhra Pradesh and at Khammam, Warangal, and Secunderabad stations in Telangana.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)-Solapur Vande Bharat Express

The country’s ninth Vande Bharat Express commenced its operations on 11 February 2023.

The semi-high-speed train runs between Mumbai and Solapur and during its journey, halts at Dadar, Kalyan, Pune, and Kurduwadi.

CSMT-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express

The tenth Vande Bharat Train in the country covers a distance of around 340 km between CSMT and Shirdi in 5 hours and 20 minutes — with stops at Dadar, Thane and Nashik Road stations.

The new train provides improved connectivity to important pilgrimage centres in Maharashtra like Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple in Nashik, Sainagar Shirdi and Shani Singanapur in Ahmednagar.

The new train introduced between Rani Kamlapati Railway station, Bhopal and New Delhi railway station is the eleventh Vande Bharat train in the country. Launched on 1 April 2023, this will be the second fastest Vande Bharat to operate after the New Delhi-Varanasi route, as per reports.  

Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express

This second Vande Bharat train from Telangana was inaugurated on 8 April 2023. The train serves as a connection between Hyderabad — the IT city, and Tirupati — the abode of Lord Venkateswara.

It is expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities by almost three and a half hours and will be particularly beneficial for pilgrim passengers.

The train have halts at Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole and Nellore stations.

Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express

The train was launched on 8 April 2023 and covers a distance of 495.28 km in 6 hours and 10 minutes. During its commercial run, the train halts at three railway stations – Tiruppur, Erode Junction, and Salem Junction.

According to railway officials, during a test run, the Vande Bharat Express journeyed from Chennai to Coimbatore and arrived at its destination 22 minutes ahead of schedule.

Delhi-Ajmer Vande Bharat Express

Rajasthan’s first Vande Bharat Express train was inaugurated on 12 April. The regular operation of the train began from 13 April, 2023 and it operates between Ajmer and Delhi Cantt, with stops at Jaipur, Alwar and Gurgaon.

The new Vande Bharat Express covers the distance between Delhi Cantt and Ajmer in 5 hours 15 minutes.

Kasargod- Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat

The 15th Vande Bharat Express train was flogged off from Thiruvananthapuram Central Station on 25 April. This is the first Vande Bharat Express train to be launched in Kerala.

The train will cover 11 districts in the state namely Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod.

Expansion Plans For Vande Bharat

Continuing with the rapid expansion of Vande Bharat network, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to flag off the Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express on 29 May from Guwahati.

While the North East region will get its first Vande Bharat train, it will be third for West Bengal.

With the Indian Railways entering a new era of mobility, these train systems are planned for significant expansions in terms of manufacturing, services and operations.

Following the Union Budget for 2023-24, the capital outlay for the railways has been increased to Rs 2.40 lakh crore — highest-ever allocation proposed with a focus on revamping the production of the Vande Bharat trains and improving railways’ stations and infrastructure. 

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav stated that at present Vande Bharat trains are manufactured at Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur which is planned to be expanded to three other locations namely — Sonepat, Latur and Rae Bareilly.

With its plan to ramp up its production of trainsets, there would be a total of 900 Vande Bharat trains in the next three-four years.

As per a Swarajya report, according to the first phase plan, there would be 400 Vande Bharat trains with sleeper facilities, out of which, 200 will be made of aluminum coaches.

The Indian Railways has selected the consortium of Russia's JSC Metrowagonmash-Mytischi (TMH) and India's RVNL to manufacture 120 Vande Bharat trains with sleeper facility at the Latur facility. 

Besides, building on the success, Indian Railways is firming up a concrete plan to increase the maximum speed of Vande Bharat Express to 240 kmph on a dedicated track.

Currently, India's first semi-high speed train is capable of running at a maximum speed of 180 kmph with operational speed of 160 kmph on an upgraded track.

Additionally, following the model of the Vande Bharat Express, the Railways plans to introduce Vande Metro trains by 2024 — for local and suburban services across the country.