Secunderabad Vande Bharat likely to be replaced with 8-coach rake

NAGPUR: Running on a low occupancy of nearly 25%, plans are underway to replace the present 20-coach 20101 Nagpur Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express with an 8-coach rake. This will be done only when the new lot of Vande trains arrive.
Since its commercial launch on September 19, 2024, the Nagpur Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express was never fully occupied, except during the eight days of the Diwali vacation period when occupancy clocked 110%.
Nagpur Division Central Railway officials said a proposal has been sent to the headquarters in Mumbai to convert the train into two and operate one section to Secunderabad and one to some other destination. "We have also proposed to change the departure timing from Nagpur from the present 5am to 7am," said senior officials.
Talking to TOI, Dr Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Central Railway, said, "There is a proposal to replace the present Vande Bharat rake. As the coaches are non-detachable, we will need to replace it with eight coaches which can be increased as per the requirement."
Vande Bharat trains can have either 8, 16, or 20 coaches, depending on the route and the number of passengers expected. The 8-coach rake can be a better option for Nagpur-Secunderabad. The 16-coach standard train has two executive class coaches and 14 chair car coaches.
The 20-coach larger version of the Vande Bharat, with a capacity of 1,440 passengers, was introduced to address the issue of long waitlists and to provide more options for last-minute travellers. The 20-coach Vande trains can be particularly useful on routes that are often crowded, such as the New Delhi-Varanasi route. "The final decision to put the Nagpur-Secunderabad train on which route will be taken by the Railway Board," said officials.
ZRUCC member Brij Bhushan Shukla feels it will be a wise decision to run an 8-coach Vande Bharat considering the occupancy in the last three months. Being the fastest train (130kmph) on the Secunderabad route, it has immense potential to become the preferred mode of transport for passengers, provided the timings are adjusted.
The train, numbered 20101-20102, began its commercial operations on September 19. The train operates six days a week, except on Tuesdays. It departs from Nagpur at 5am and reaches Secunderabad at 12.15pm, covering the distance in 7.15 hours. The return journey starts at 1pm from Secunderabad, and the train arrives in Nagpur at 8.20pm.
Satish Yadav, a member of the Zonal Railway Users' Consultative Committee (ZRUCC), points out that several trains run daily between Nagpur and Hyderabad/Secunderabad during the day, making the early morning departure time of 5am less appealing to passengers. He suggests that the railways should advance the departure time by at least two hours to attract passengers.
Moreover, Yadav notes that while the Vande Bharat takes 7.15 hours to reach Secunderabad, Rajdhani and other mail/express trains take only 8.5 to 9 hours. This minimal time difference may not be significant enough to persuade passengers to choose Vande Bharat over other trains.
Ex-ZRUCC member Basant Shukla suggests the train should depart from Nagpur at 8am and start its return journey from Secunderabad at 4pm. He believes that passengers prefer to travel during the day due to the risks associated with bus travel and that this schedule would also attract return passengers from Hyderabad.