The first trip of the Secunderabad-Tirupati ‘Vande Bharat’ Express with 16 coaches got an overwhelming response from the passengers with 109% bookings on the very first day on May 17.
The service began with eight coaches last month but consistent high patronage (more than 130%) in both directions has led to Railways doubling the number of coaches to increase the 530 to 1,128 seats — 104 seats in executive class and 1,024 seats in chair car.
A total of 1,228 passengers made their train booking before the start of the train journey with the travel time reduced in each direction by 15 minutes from today. The journey in either direction will now be covered in 8.15 hours.
The indigenously developed train has several world-class features like a GPS-based passenger information system, automatic sliding doors, reclining seats, CCTV cameras in all coaches, diffused LED lighting, charging points beneath every seat etc., providing better riding comfort and more safety features, said a press release.
