State to get its first Vande Bharat trains, Mum-Pune one of the routes finalised

The time to travel between the two cities will be reduced to 150 minutes or two-and-a-half hours after the Vande Bharat trains are introduced between the routes

MUMBAI In what can be called a major boost for rail travel in Maharashtra, the state is set to get its first Vande Bharat trains and Mumbai and Pune has been finalised as one of the routes. The semi-high speed trains are the fastest among the ones in the Indian Railways.

Currently, the fastest train between the two cities is Deccan Queen that has a travel time of three hours and 10 minutes (HT File)

The time to travel between the two cities will be reduced to 150 minutes or two-and-a-half hours after the Vande Bharat trains are introduced between the routes. Although the railway ministry is yet to finalise on a date, the two new trains are expected to start operations by August 15.

Currently, the fastest train between the two cities is Deccan Queen that has a travel time of three hours and 10 minutes.

“We took the decision to introduce Vande Bharat trains between the two cities because the trains have chair cars and can be operated smoothly on the route,” said a senior Central Railway official.

Presently, the Vande Bharat trains only have chair cars as its seating arrangement and hence, the Mumbai-Pune route has been selected. The railway ministry will be introducing the phase 2 of Vande Bharat trains with AC sleeper in 2023, which is likely to be introduced between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai and Firozpur Cantonment railway station in Punjab.

“We plan to operate the AC sleeper Vande Bharat trains between Mumbai and Punjab. At present, it takes nearly 33 hours to travel between the two states, which will be drastically reduced,” added the senior Central railway official.

Further, the railway ministry, in a letter to zonal railways in May, stated that Wadi Bunder railway yard at Mazgaon and Jogeshwari will be used to make depots for the maintenance.

The Central and Western Railway had been asked to inspect the locations and plan for the development and upgradation for the maintenance infrastructure of the Vande Bharat trains.

Transport experts said that these new trains will be a game changer between Mumbai and Pune, but will have constraints in the ghat section. “It certainly will help people travelling regularly for work as it will save commuting hours. However, the operating speed in the ghat section can be a concern. Also, they should upgrade the tracks to handle the speed of the train,” said transport expert AV Shenoy.

Headline: First in Maharashtra

Travel time between Mumbai and Pune

Time taken to travel by road: 3 hours

Time taken by outstation train: 3 hours 10 minutes

Vande Bharat will take: 2 hours 30 minutes

Operating speed of train: 130 kmph

On some railway sections, Vande Bharat has also been operated upto 160 kmph

Maximum speed of the train: 200 kmph

*The trains require maintenance after 3,500 km

#Vande Bharat trains are operational between New Delhi and Varanasi, New Delhi and Katra.

#Second Phase of Vande Bharat trains expected between Mumbai and Punjab.