Prime Minister Narendra Modi Flags Off Nine Trains
In a recent development, Southern Railways has taken the lead in the number of Vande Bharat trains, despite ranking fourth in terms of route kilometers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off nine semi-high-speed trains on Sunday, boosting the count to 34 Vande Bharat trains in operation across Indian Railways zones.
Northern Zone Trails Behind Southern Railways
The northern zone, which boasts the largest route kilometers, is second in terms of Vande Bharat trains, with four dedicated services. Western and North Western zones, which follow in route kilometers, each operate three Vande Bharat trains, as does the Central Railways. Five other zones have two Vande Bharat trains each, while several others operate just one.
Southern Railways’ Dominance
Remarkably, the Southern Zone has six Vande Bharat Express trains, with four originating from Chennai to destinations like Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Mysuru, and Vijayawada. Kerala, within the Southern Zone, hosts two Vande Bharat trains, connecting Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram.
Delhi’s Six Dedicated Vande Bharat Trains
Delhi is the only city with six dedicated Vande Bharat trains. Four of them belong to the Northern Zone, serving routes to Dehradun, Amb Andaura, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, and Varanasi. Two more trains operate from Delhi, one heading to Ajmer and the other to Bhopal.
Other Cities with Four Dedicated Trains
Apart from Chennai and Delhi, two more cities boast four dedicated Vande Bharat trains: Howrah and Mumbai. Central Railways manages all three Vande Bharat trains operating from Mumbai, serving Madgaon, Sainagar Shirdi, and Solapur. Meanwhile, a Vande Bharat running between Mumbai and Gandhinagar in Gujarat is operated by Western Railways. The Western Zone also runs the Ahmedabad-Jamnagar and Indore-Bhopal Vande Bharats.
Howrah’s Diversity
Howrah, a key railway hub, contributes four Vande Bharat trains to the network, managed by three different zones. South Eastern Railway (SER) operates two Vande Bharat trains, one to Puri and another to Ranchi. Patna-Howrah service is operated by East Central Railway (ECR), and the eastern zone handles the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat. ECR also operates a train between Patna and Ranchi.
Other Zones with Single Vande Bharat Trains
Several zones operate just one Vande Bharat train each: North Eastern Railway (NER) with the Gorakhpur-Lucknow route, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) between New Jalpaiguri and Guwahati, South East Central Railway (SECR) connecting Bilaspur and Nagpur, and South Western Railway (SWR) for Bangalore-Dharwad.
Record-Breaking Year
In the current financial year, India has seen a significant boost in its Vande Bharat train network, with a total of 24 new trains inaugurated, marking a substantial expansion in this initiative.
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