Lok Sabha Question No. 463 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-23
Subject: Vande Bharat Trains in Maharashtra
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare, Shri Bajrang Manohar Sonwane, Shri Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 463

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025

## VANDE BHARAT TRAINS IN MAHARASHTRA

## 463. SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV LANKE:

SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE:

SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the number of Vande Bharat Express trains currently operating in the State of Maharashtra  along  with their routes, frequency and year of introduction;
- (b)  whether  any  representations  have  been  received  from  public representatives for introducing Vande Bharat trains connecting major cities  like  Nagpur,  Aurangabad,  Nashik,  Kolhapur  and  Solapur  and  if so, the action taken thereon;
- (c) the details of the criteria adopted for selecting new Vande Bharat
- routes;
- (d)  whether  Maharashtra's  intra-State  and  inter-State  connectivity
- needs have been factored in and if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  the  total  funds  allocated  and  spent  on  Vande  Bharat-related infrastructure  including  station  maintenance  depots  and  operational facilities in Maharashtra;
- (f) whether the Government has conducted any study or assessment to improve railway connectivity between non-metro cities in Maharashtra such  as  Nashik,  Kolhapur,  Aurangabad,  Jalgaon,  Solapur,  Akola  and Chandrapur and if so, the details thereof;
- (g)  the  details  of  the  steps  taken  to  modernise/upgrade  existing  rail infrastructure  in  non-metro  regions  of  Maharashtra  to  facilitate  new express services; and

(h) whether the Government proposes to introduce semi-high-speed or express  train services  including Vande  Bharat  or  similar  trains, connecting  these  cities  for  faster  regional  mobility  and  if  so,  the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (h) Presently, 144 Vande Bharat train services are operational on the Indian Railways(IR) network which include the following 22 Vande Bharat  train  services  (on  originating/terminating  basis)  which  are catering  to  the  needs  of  various  stations  located  in  the  State  of Maharashtra.

|   Sl | Train no. and name                                                     | Frequency     | W.e.f      |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|------------|
|    1 | 20101/20102 Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express                   | 6 days a week | 19-09-2024 |
|    2 | 20669/20670 Hubballi-Pune Vande Bharat Express                         | 3 days a week | 18-09-2024 |
|    3 | 20673/20674 SCSM(T) Kolhapur - Pune Vande Bharat Express               | 3 days a week | 18-09-2024 |
|    4 | 20705/20706 Jalna-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express | 6 days a week | 30-12-2023 |
|    5 | 20825/20826 Bilaspur-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express                       | 6 days a week | 12-12-2022 |
|    6 | 20901/20902 Mumbai Central- Gandhinagar Capital Vande Bharat Express   | 6 days a week | 30-09-2022 |

|   7 | 20911/20912 Indore-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express                                   | 6 days a week   | 27-06-2023   |
|-----|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|--------------|
|   8 | 22223/22224 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T)-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express | 6 days a week   | 11-02-2023   |
|   9 | 22225/22226 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T)-Solapur Vande Bharat Express         | 6 days a week   | 11-02-2023   |
|  10 | 22229/22230 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T)-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express         | 3 days a week   | 28-06-2023   |
|  11 | 22961/22962 Mumbai Central- Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express                       | 6 days a week   | 09-03-2024   |

Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nasik Road, SCSM(T) Kolhapur and Solapur  stations are being served by Vande Bharat Express services. However, as the Railway network straddles across State boundaries, trains are introduced across such boundaries as per network requirement.

Besides,  introduction  of  train  services  including  Vande  Bharat Express services and provision of stoppages to improve connectivity are on-going processes on Indian Railways, subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, etc.

The expenditure on infrastructure including that related to Vande Bharat  trains  is  part  of  expenditure  on  overall  maintenance  and upgradation  works  of  Railways  and  is  incurred  under  both  Revenue and Capital Segments.

To  improve  the  rail  connectivity  of  various  cities  located  in Maharashtra, following major projects falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra have been taken up:-

|   SN | Name of the Project                            | Cost (₹ in Cr)   |
|------|------------------------------------------------|------------------|
|    1 | Manmad-Indore New Line (309 Km)                | 16,321           |
|    2 | Jalna-Ajanta-Jalgaon New Line (174 Km)         | 5,804            |
|    3 | Aurangabad-Ankai doubling (98 Km)              | 961              |
|    4 | Parbhani-Parli-Vaijanath doubling (65 Km)      | 770              |
|    5 | Jalgaon-Manmad 4th Line (160 Km)               | 2,574            |
|    6 | Bhusawal-Khandwa 3rd and 4th Line (131 Km)     | 3,285            |
|    7 | Kalyan-Murbad new line (28 km)                 | 836              |
|    8 | Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli new line (261 km)        | 2,539            |
|    9 | Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded new line (284 km)       | 3,445            |
|   10 | Solapur-Osmanabad new line (84 km)             | 905              |
|   11 | Baramati-Lonand new line (64 km)               | 736              |
|   12 | Ratlam-Khandwa-Akola Gauge conversion (525 km) | 6,384            |
|   13 | Wadsa-Gadchiroli new line (53 km)              | 852              |

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