Inside the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express train after its launch on Saturday. (Image: Nivedita Singh / File)
The Secunderabad-Tirupati and Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat trains have eight coaches as against the usual 16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the first train from Secunderabad Railway Station in Hyderabad.
For the first time, two eight-coach Vande Bharat Express trains were inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi For South India on Saturday. The trains – between Secunderabad and Tirupati, Chennai and Coimbatore – have eight coaches as against the usual 16.
The Prime Minister first inaugurated the Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat at the Secunderabad Railway Station in Hyderabad. This train, connecting IT city Hyderabad to Venkateswara’s residence in Tirupati, is the second Vande Bharat train from Telangana. The state got its first Vande Bharat in January.
According to the Ministry of Railways, the Secunderabad-Tirupati train will reduce the travel time between the two cities by about three hours 30 minutes. This will be especially beneficial for pilgrims.
The train will stop at Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole and Nellore. It costs Rs 1,680 for a chair car and Rs 3,080 for executive class between Secunderabad and Tirupati. Vande Bharat will run for six days except Tuesday. The eight-coach Vande Bharat has a seating capacity of 530 people.
The next fastest train between the two stations is Kacheguda-Chengalpattu Express (17652) which takes 10.35 hrs between the stations and costs Rs 960 for 3rd AC. This goes on for the whole week.
The ministry said that this Vande Bharat passed through 10 districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of 661 km.
“This is the first of its kind beautifully designed semi-high speed, well equipped fully AC service running between Secunderabad and Tirupati. The train can attain a maximum speed of 130 kmph between Tenali and Gudur,” the ministry said.
Later in the day, at around 4.20 pm, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat. News18 was also on board. According to the ministry, the train is connecting Coimbatore, the “Manchester of South India” with Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai. With this, the total number of Vande Bharat flights in India has gone up to 13.
“Vande Bharat will cover a distance of 495 km between the two cities in 5 hours 50 minutes,” the ministry said.
This Vande Bharat will stop at Salem, Erode and Tiruppur and will run six days a week except Wednesday. The chair car will cost Rs 1,365 while the executive class will cost Rs 2,485.
Trivandrum Mail (12623), which runs on all week costs Rs 835 for Third AC and completes the journey in six hrs 53 mins. Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi (12243) takes 7 hours and five minutes to complete the journey and costs Rs 1,370 for chair car while executive class costs Rs 2,085.
The ministry said the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat will benefit students, IT professionals and business class passengers, especially from textile and industrial units in and around Coimbatore, Salem, Erode and Tiruppur.
“This is the first of its kind premium day train service which starts from Coimbatore in the morning (Shatabdi starts from Chennai in the morning). This will greatly benefit the passengers going to Chennai from Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode and Salem.
This is the second time in two months that the PM has flagged off two Vande Bharats in a day. In February, he inaugurated two Vande Bharats from Mumbai to Solapur and Shirdi.
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