Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat to take over 10 hours in monsoon

According to Central Railway officials, the Mumbai-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express will run six days a week. Train number 22229 will leave CSMT at 5.25 am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and will reach Madgaon at 3.30 pm. Likewise, train number 22230 will leave Madgaon at 12.20 pm every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and will reach CSMT at 10.25 pm

Mumbai: The Mumbai-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express will take more than 10 hours to reach its final destination during the monsoon season, said railway officials on Sunday. With this, the promise of Indian Railways that Vande Bharat will be among the fastest trains to run on this route should be taken with a pinch of salt.

“Common man cannot afford to travel in Vande Bharat and if someone wants to go to Goa during the rainy season then why would he travel for 10 hours one way and instead take the flight, which at present is lesser,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president, Federation of Railway Passengers Association. (HT PHOTO)

According to Central Railway officials, the Mumbai-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express will run six days a week. Train number 22229 will leave CSMT at 5.25 am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and will reach Madgaon at 3.30 pm. Likewise, train number 22230 will leave Madgaon at 12.20 pm every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and will reach CSMT at 10.25 pm.

Thus, the journey time comes to 10 hours and 5 minutes, whereas during the dry season, the Mumbai-Madgaon Vande Bharat train is expected to take 7 hours and 45 minutes. This eight-car train will halt at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Khed, Ratnagiri, Kankavali and Thivim. The maximum fare of the Vande Bharat train, which has permission to run up to 120 kmph on this route, is pegged at ₹2,921 for Executive Chair Car.

Meanwhile, railway passengers are of the view that during the off-peak season when airfares are low, they would rather prefer taking flights as the travel time is barely an hour.

“Common man cannot afford to travel in Vande Bharat and if someone wants to go to Goa during the rainy season then why would he travel for 10 hours one way and instead take the flight, which at present is lesser,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president, Federation of Railway Passengers Association.

The Railways, however, claimed that airfares follow dynamic pricing, whereas Vande Bharat will have fixed pricing and the trains will become affordable, especially during the peak season like the Ganpati festival when demand is a lot more.

On June 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off five Vande Bharat Express trains on routes of Bhopal-Indore, Bhopal-Jabalpur, Ranchi-Patna, Dharwad- Bengaluru and Madgaon - Mumbai.