Hyderabad: Secunderabad – Tirupati – Secunderabad Vande Bharat train is set to get longer and faster soon, according to a press release issued by the South Central Railway (SCR) on Monday.

Starting May 17, the semi-high-speed passenger train will now travel faster and with enhanced passenger carrying capacity. Currently, the train has 7 coaches with 530 passenger capacity and this is going to change from Wednesday onwards. The semi-high-speed passenger train will add another 8 coaches to the train taking the number of coaches to 16 and will enhance the seating capacity from 530 passengers to 1,128 passengers. The new composition will have 14 Chair Cars with 1,024 capacity and 02 Executive Class with 104 capacity.

In addition to this, the Vande Bharat train will reduce the travel time in both the directions by 15 minutes. The train will complete its journey in either direction in 8 hrs 15 mins, instead of the present duration of 8.5 hours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged-off the semi-high-speed passenger train on April 8. The Train No. 20701/20702 Secunderabad – Tirupati – Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express was initially introduced with 8 coaches’ composition, which included 01 Executive Class and 7 Chair Cars. Since the introduction of the regular services, the train has been operating with more than 100 per cent patronage consistently.

While, the Train No. 20701 Secunderabad – Tirupati Vande Bharat Express recorded a patronage of 131 per cent in April and 135 per cent in May 2023, the Train No. 20702 Tirupati – Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express Recorded a patronage of 136 per cent in April and 138 per cent in May 2023, the release added.

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