Prime Minister Modi is set to inaugurate nine new Vande Bharat routes, expanding the network to a total of 32 routes. Among these new routes is a second Vande Bharat train for Kerala, which will run from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram. The other new routes include Jaipur to Udaipur, Vijayawada to Chennai, Tirunelveli to Chennai, Jamnagar to Ahmedabad, Ranchi to Howrah, Secunderabad (Kacheguda) to Bengaluru (Yesvantpur), Rourkela to Puri, and Patna to Howrah.
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The decision to introduce a second Vande Bharat train for Kerala, with a potential route through Alappuzha or Alleppey, stems from the remarkable 177% occupancy rate observed from April to July. Additionally, several existing Vande Bharat routes have enjoyed full occupancy during the same period. These include routes such as Vishakhapatnam to Secunderabad, Mumbai to Ahmedabad, Mumbai to Solapur, Patna to Ranchi, Varanasi to Delhi, Delhi to Katra, and Delhi to Dehradun.
These new Vande Bharat trains have departed from the traditional white and blue livery and are now adorned in saffron and grey. These expanded services will greatly enhance connectivity across multiple states. For example, while the Jamnagar to Ahmedabad service is being launched, there is already an existing Vande Bharat train operating between Jodhpur and Ahmedabad. Similarly, with the introduction of the Chennai to Vijayawada and Tirunelveli routes, there are already well-established routes between Chennai and Mysuru and Chennai and Coimbatore. Notably, the Chennai to Mysuru route achieved a 77% occupancy rate, while the Chennai to Coimbatore route boasted an impressive 98% occupancy rate from April to July.
