Lok Sabha Question No. 3252 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-09
Subject: Operation of Vande Bharat Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Arun Sao, Ranjeetsingh Naik Nimbalkar, Ramya  Haridas, Vijay Baghel, Mohan Mandavi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3252 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2023

## OPERATION OF VANDE BHARAT TRAINS

## †3252.  SHRI ARUN SAO:

SHRI RANJEETSINGH NAIK NIMBALKAR:

MS. RAMYA HARIDAS:

SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL:

SHRI MOHAN MANDAVI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the names of the cities including Chhattisgarh where Vande Bharat trains are being operated at present and the names of the cities which are planned to be connected through the said trains in future;
- (b)  whether  Vande  Bharat  trains  are  not  getting  enough  passengers due to high fares and if so, the corrective measures being taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) the other changes proposed in the said trains for the convenience of the passengers; and
- (d) the cost estimated to be incurred on the operation of Vande Bharat trains  and  the  amount  of  revenue  likely  to  be  received  by  the Government from the said trains?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  3252  BY  SHRI  ARUN  SAO,  SHRI  RANJEETSINGH  NAIK NIMBALKAR, MS. RAMYA HARIDAS, SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL AND SHRI MOHAN MANDAVI  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  09.08.2023  REGARDING OPERATION OF VANDE BHARAT TRAINS (a) to (d) As on 3 rd  August, 2023, 50 Vande Bharat train services are running across  the  Indian  Railways,  connecting  States  having  Broad  Gauge  (B.G.) electrified network. Railway network straddle across State boundaries and trains are introduced across State boundaries as per network requirement. However, two of the Vande  Bharat services operating between  Bilaspur  and  Nagpur  are  serving  Raipur,  Durg  and  Rajnandgaon stations located in the State of Chhattisgarh.  Besides, these stations the other prominent cities being  served by Vande Bharat services include New Delhi,  Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Varanasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Ahmedabad, Amb Andaura, Mysuru, New Jalpaiguri, Visakhapatnam, Secunderabad,   Sri  Sainagar  Shirdi,  Solapur,  Bhopal,  Tirupati,  Coimbatore, Ajmer, Jaipur, Kasaragod, Thiruvananthapuram,  Puri,  Dehradun,  Guwahati, Madgaon, Indore, Jabalpur, Bengaluru, Dharwad, Patna, Ranchi, Gorakhpur, Lucknow,   Jodhpur  etc.  Besides,  introduction  of  trains,  including  Vande Bharat  services,  is  an  ongoing  process  on  Indian  Railways  subject  to operational feasibility, traffic justification, etc. During  2023-24  (upto  June  2023),  the  overall  utilization  of  Vande Bharat trains is 99.60%. Further, on Indian Railways, occupancy pattern of trains is not uniform throughout the year and it varies over lean and peak periods. Indian Railways strives to provide economically reasonable fares to all passengers of the country. Train-wise cost of operation is not maintained. With a view to provide better travel experience to the passengers, Indian Railways has introduced Vande Bharat trains with modern coaches having  enhanced  safety  features  and  amenities  like;  Faster  acceleration, Fully  Sealed  Gangway,  Automatic  Plug  Doors,  Better  Ride  Comfort,  Mini Pantry with provision of Hot Case, Bottle Cooler, Deep freezer & Hot water Boiler, special lavatory for Divyangjan passengers in DTC, CCTVs etc.

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