Kasargod-Trivandrum Vande Bharat Express emerges as top performer with 183% average occupancy

The Kasaragod to Trivandrum train is the best-performing Vande Bharat Express with an average occupancy of 183 per cent among the 23 pairs of such trains running across the Railway network, according to official data.

As reported by PTI, the Vande Bharat Express between Trivandrum and Kasaragod in Kerala, with an average occupancy of 176 per cent is the next best-performing train, followed by the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Central Vande Bharat Express with an average occupancy of 134 per cent.

Occupancy refers to the calculation of the total number of passengers traveling on a specific train route, which includes both those who get on and off at intermediate stations.

An official noted that if a person has booked a ticket on a train from point A to point B, it is considered one booking. “From point B, another passenger books the same seat to travel to point C, so the same seat has two bookings”, an official said.

The inaugural journey of the first Vande Bharat Express took place on February 15, 2019, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the train, which operates between New Delhi and Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Notably, the train was manufactured domestically at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.

So far, 46 Vande Bharat Express services have reached all rail-electrified states of the country. Encompassing a total of 24 states and Union Territories, the Vande Bharat Express fleet has been ever-growing owing to its time-saving feature, which saves an average of an hour in comparison to other trains.

With a maximum permissible speed of up to 160 kmph, it provides faster acceleration. The Vande Bharat Express is the fastest passenger train on the routes it is running on.

The trains with top occupancy include the Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express (129 per cent), Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express (128 per cent), New Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express (124 per cent), Dehradun-Amritsar Vande Bharat Express (105 per cent), Mumbai-Sholapur Vande Bharat Express (111 per cent), Sholapur-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express (104 per cent).

In the eastern region, the Howrah-Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express has an average occupancy of 108 per cent and on the return journey, it has recorded an occupancy of 103 per cent. The Patna-Ranchi Vande Bharat Express has an occupancy of 125 per cent, while on its return journey, it has an occupancy of 127 per cent.

Among the trains that need a leg up in occupancy is the Ajmer to Delhi Cantonment Vande Bharat Express (60 per cent) and the Delhi Cantonment to Ajmer train (83 per cent).

From April 1, 2022, to June 21, 2023, the Vande Bharat Express has completed 2,140 trips and served a total of 2,520,370 passengers.

During the budget speech on February 1, 2022, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the development and manufacturing of 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains, promising improved energy efficiency and passenger experience.

As of July 2022, a tender has been awarded for the production of 102 Vande Bharat trains, while another tender has been released for the manufacturing of 200 additional Vande Bharat trains.

(With inputs from PTI)