Express News Service
BENGALURU: The 30-minute time premium the Vande Bharat semi-fast train offers passengers between Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru over the Shatabdi Express, another premium train on the route, seems to have caught the public’s fancy. Ever since its launch on November 11, Vande Bharat has been running at full capacity every day and that too with a long waiting list.
Booking statistics released by the South Western Railway Zone from November 12 to November 22 revealed extremely high demand for the train, which takes 390 minutes from Chennai to Mysuru and 385 minutes in the return direction. In comparison, Shatabdi takes an extra 30 minutes each way.
VB has 14 air-conditioned coaches (CC) and two air-conditioned coaches (EC) with 112 swivel seats. There are 1,092 seats in the CC category and each ticket costs Rs 780 compared to an EC ticket which costs Rs 1,660.
“In the EC VB category, the average booking is 147%, while the CC category has a booking of 115% from Chennai to Mysuru (Train No. 20607). On the Mysuru to Chennai route (train no. 20608), EC category has an average of 125% booking while CC category has 97% booking,” said Chief Public Relations Officer (SWR) Aneesh Hegde. The waiting list for train travel is huge, he added.
Statistics show that during the same period, Shatabdi had only 64% and 85% bookings respectively for EC and CC categories from Chennai to Mysuru (Train No. 12007) and 75% and 98% respectively in the return direction (Train No. 12008).
Explaining the high demand, Hegde said, “Offering the convenience of a rail carrier, VB is faster than Shatabdi and is increasingly preferred by businessmen, students and tourists to travel between Mysuru, Bengaluru and Chennai. This is in line with the aspiration of the next generation – they don’t just want to travel, they want to have an unforgettable experience, comfortable and enjoyable.”
Except Wednesdays, VB departs Chennai at 5:50 a.m. daily, reaching KSR Bengaluru at 10:25 a.m. and Mysuru at 12:30 p.m. In the return direction, it departs from Mysuru at 1:05 PM, reaching KSR at 2:55 PM and Chennai at 7:35 PM.
Smoke in Duronto Express, fix now
Bengaluru: A train conductor (guard) detected smoke coming from one of the coaches of the Duronto Express as it approached Kuppam railway station in Chittoor district on Sunday afternoon. Train (No. 12246) left Sir MV Terminal at Baiyappanahalli at 11.15 am and was on its way to Howrah. The problem in the S9 bus was immediately resolved and the journey continued, according to the official announcement. The smoke was noticed at 12:50 p.m., the train was stopped and inspected by staff, and it departed at 1:33 p.m., they said. According to the official announcement, the smoke was caused by braking.