Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the second Vande Bharat train on the Delhi - Varanasi route on December 18.
Railway officials told The Hindu that a second train is being started as the demand is very high.
“The first Vande Bharat train that started along the Delhi - Varanasi route is running at an occupancy of more than 100%. This means that more than one person books tickets on the route at various stops,” the official said.
For instance, a passenger travels on the route and alights at Kanpur, and the same seat is again occupied by another passenger travelling onwards up to Allahabad or Varanasi.
The official added that the second train will be run on timings opposite to the first train, so while the existing 22436 Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi to Varanasi departs from New Delhi Railway Station at 6 am and reaches Varanasi at 2 pm, the second train will commence it’s journey from New Delhi, during the second half of the day. The current train runs on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and covers 769 kms over eight hours, attaining an average speed of 96 kms per hour. “The time table of the second train is being designed keeping this in mind,” the official said.
