Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express To Have 16 Coaches, Run Faster From Tomorrow

The Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express will accommodate more passengers from Wednesday.

The Vande Bharat Express ( Image Source :ABP Desam )

The Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express train will get faster and accommodate more passengers from Wednesday. The train will have full-fledged 16 coaches and reach the destination earlier by 15 minutes each on both sides. 

So far, the train had eight coaches and a maximum capacity of 530 passengers. After the modifications, it will be able to carry 1,128 passengers.

The Railways has decided to increase the number of coaches, keeping in mind the heavy passenger demand for the train. The South Central Railway (SCR) said the train will now complete its journey in either direction in 8 hours and 15 minutes instead of the present duration of 8 hours and 30 minutes.

The Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express, which connects Hyderabad's IT City with Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8.

According to SCR, train number 20701/20702 Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express was initially introduced with an eight-coach composition, which included one executive class and seven chair  ars. Since the introduction of regular services, the train has been operating consistently with 100 per cent capacity.

While 21,798 passengers have travelled by Vande Bharat Express from Secunderabad to Tirupati, another 23,194 passengers have travelled from Tirupati to Secunderabad. Both categories of coaches — executive as well as chair car — have witnessed more than 100 per cent patronage in both directions.

The new composition will have 14 chair cars with 1,024 seats (instead of earlier six with a capacity of 478) and two executive class seats with 104 seats (instead of the earlier one coach with a capacity of 52).

According to an IANS report, the general manager of South Central Railways, Arun Kumar Jain, has said the doubling of the coaches was also a timely addition, as during this summer holiday season, more passengers will be able to visit Tirupati.

The Vande Bharat Express between Secunderabad and Tirupati is also being made faster, with travel time in both directions being reduced by 15 minutes. "To accommodate the reduced travel time, the train timings at stations have also been revised with effect from May 17," he said.

The train stops only at four stations: Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole, and Nellore.