In pleasant news for passengers, Indian Railways is planning to launch a new Vande Bharat train that will operate between Anand Vihar and Ayodhya.
New Delhi: Good news for passengers as Indian Railways extends one of the country’s most popular and fastest trains, Vande Bharat Express, between Gorakhpur and Lucknow to Prayagraj. Preparations are underway to launch another Vande Bharat Train, which will operate between Anand Vihar and the holy city Ayodhya. The Railways is preparing a timetable for the operation of the Vande Bharat train. Notably, when this Vande Bharat train becomes operational, it will affect some general trains. To resolve this issue, the Railway Board is conducting a meeting to ensure minimal disruption to the already operating trains, including Shatabdi Express and Tejas Express, as reported by ETCBharat, citing a Railways official.
Vande Bharat Train’s Coaches To Be Handed Over To Northern Railway
The rake of eight-coach Vande Bharat train will be handed over to Northern Railway on 16th of December, ETCBharat reported citing sources. The train will cover the distance from Anand Vihar to Lucknow in approximately eight hours, ETVBharat quoted a senior officer of the Railway Board.
Vande Bharat Train To Run From Anand Vihar In Morning
The official also stated that it is possible that the Vande Bharat Train will run from Anand Vihar in the morning. The reason that the Vande Bharat train will run from Anand Vihar is that there is no arrangement for primary maintenance of it in Ayodhya.
Hence, there is a consensus to operate the Vande Bharat Express, with the proposal to begin the journey from Anand Vihar in the morning and return from Ayodhya in the afternoon.
Officials mentioned that if Vande Bharat Express is scheduled to run from Anand Vihar in the evening, there won’t be provisions for essential maintenance upon reaching Ayodhya at night. Travelling at night is not feasible for chair car trains. The Railway Board had previously formulated a proposal to transform the New Delhi-Lucknow Shatabdi Express into a Vande Bharat Express. In this context, the Anand Vihar-Ayodhya Vande Bharat Express is being considered as a potential alternative to the Shatabdi Express.
According to Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Senior DCM) of Northern Railway Lucknow Division, Rekha Sharma, passengers have complaint about several issues such as the rake of the train becoming old, and malfunction of its gate among others. She stated that the Railway Board has started preparing a timetable of the new train that will run between Anand Vihar-Ayodhya. It is also likely that the order for the operation date will also come very soon.