Vande Bharat to run on Bangalore to Goa route, offering scenic journey

Good news for passengers traveling between Kanpur and Delhi: the Ministry of Railways has approved the launch of a new daily train service between Kanpur Central and Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi. The introduction of this new express service will provide an additional option for passengers on this busy railway route.

A key feature of the new service is that the train will operate during nighttime hours in both directions, allowing passengers to travel overnight and arrive in Delhi or Kanpur in the morning.

According to the Ministry of Railways, the new service will run under the name Train 14153/14154 Kanpur Central-Anand Vihar-Kanpur Central Mel. This train will run daily in both directions. The Ministry notes that the new service will strengthen the rail connectivity between Kanpur Central and Anand Vihar, as well as benefit passengers from major cities traveling along this route.

The train will depart from Kanpur Central at 20:40. After the overnight journey, it will arrive at Anand Vihar Terminal at 04:50 AM. Thus, passengers traveling from Kanpur to Delhi can utilize the night journey and arrive in the capital region early in the morning. In the return direction, Train 14154 Anand Vihar-Kanpur Central Mel will depart from Anand Vihar Terminal at 23:25 and arrive at Kanpur Central the next day at 07:25 AM.

The Ministry of Railways reports that both routes cover a distance of approximately 428 kilometers. The planned travel time from Kanpur to Anand Vihar will be about 8 hours and 10 minutes, while the return journey from Anand Vihar to Kanpur will take about 8 hours.

The new train will not only provide direct connectivity between Kanpur and Delhi but will also be useful for passengers from several large towns and villages along the route. The Ministry of Railways has designated eight stops for this train. Major stops include Fafund, Itawa, Tundla, Hathras, Aligarh, Hurja, Dadri, and Ghaziabad. Passengers from these localities will also gain access to an additional daily railway service for travel between the Kanpur and Delhi regions.

A significant number of people regularly or daily travel between Kanpur and Delhi, including those commuting to the capital region for work, business, studies, medical treatment, and other urgent matters. The overnight schedule of the new train may be particularly convenient for such passengers who do not wish to spend daytime hours traveling. For example, by boarding the train at 20:40 from Kanpur, a passenger can arrive at Anand Vihar around 04:50 AM. Similarly, passengers returning from Delhi can board the train at 23:25 and arrive in Kanpur at 07:25 AM. The Ministry of Railways emphasized that this new daily service will provide additional railway options for passengers between Kanpur and the capital region, considering the overnight departure in both directions.

The impact of the new train will not be limited to Kanpur and Delhi. Residents of important cities such as Itawa, Aligarh, Dadri, and Ghaziabad will also benefit. An additional option will be available for passengers traveling from Itawa and its surroundings to Delhi. Furthermore, stops at key stations like Aligarh and Hurja will provide convenience to residents of these areas. With a stop in Ghaziabad, transport accessibility to Delhi will become even more convenient for residents of the capital region. The Ministry of Railways believes that this service will help facilitate movement between Kanpur, Itawa, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, and Delhi.

In addition to the Kanpur-Anand Vihar train, the Ministry of Railways has approved an important project for Vadodara in Gujarat district. The Ministry has sanctioned the construction of a four-lane elevated road (ROB) in Alkapuri. The estimated cost of this project is 166.5 crore rupees. Construction will be carried out based on joint funding with the Government of Gujarat. The total cost will be split equally between Indian Railways and the state government, with each party's share amounting to approximately 83.2769 crore rupees.

The existing underpass (RUB) near Vadodara station, located in Alkapuri, is an important part of the road connection between the Alkapuri and Kalaghodha areas. However, due to its height of about three meters, movement of large vehicles is restricted. Moreover, during the monsoon season, flooding occurs here, leading to traffic disruptions and inconvenience for road users. In light of these issues, the Ministry of Railways plans to construct a four-lane grade-separated flyover, which will help increase the capacity of the existing road crossing system and improve traffic management.

Preparations for the launch of India's first high-speed railway are actively continuing, and work on the railway stations being built for this project is progressing at a high speed. The Ministry of Railways and the Railway Minister regularly publish updates on this topic on social media platforms such as Twitter (now X).

The Ministry of Railways shared a video demonstrating the progress of work at the railway station and on the track itself in the Vapi-Surat section. This video quickly went viral. The video clearly shows that to ensure high train speeds on this high-speed route, work is underway to lay tunnels through mountains, install the railway track over a river, and carry out electrification work at a military level. Furthermore, the railways showed preliminary footage of the multi-story station for the high-speed train.

Construction of the Vapi-Surat section is proceeding very rapidly. The Railway Minister indicated that the first high-speed railway may begin operating on tracks possibly as early as August 15 of next year. This will be the country's first high-speed train to operate on the 508-kilometer Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor. Of this corridor, 348 kilometers pass through Gujarat, and the Vapi-Surat section shown by the Ministry of Railways accounts for about 100 kilometers.

Although the entire 508-kilometer Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor includes a certain number of stops, 12 stops were planned for this segment. The first high-speed train station is located in Sabarmati, and the last one is in Mumbai. In addition to Sabarmati and Mumbai (BKC), the list includes towns such as Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, and Ahmedabad.

When the high-speed train reaches its full operational speed, it will travel at 320 kilometers per hour. However, between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, the average speed of the high-speed train is expected to be around 300 kilometers per hour next year. Previously, the journey between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on the fastest trains took approximately 6 hours. After the high-speed train launches, this time will be reduced to just 2 hours. This will not only save valuable passenger time but also boost trade activity between the two states.

With the approach of Diwali and Chhath festivals, people working in various cities across the country, especially from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, are planning to return home. Diwali falls on November 8th, and Chhath Puja will run from November 13th to 16th, including evening Arghya on November 15th and morning Arghya on November 16th. This has caused a significant increase in load on trains and flights heading to Bihar and Jharkhand during the first and second weeks of November, as is customary every year.

Residents from the Purvanchal and Bihar regions living in other states are preparing for a mass return. However, the journey home for residents of Purvanchal looks challenging. As soon as booking opened, train tickets were sold out, and now most trains display a 'Regret' status after long waiting periods. Thus, hope for getting a train ticket has vanished, forcing people to consider air travel. But the cost of air tickets is so high that ordinary people cannot afford such a trip.

For passengers traveling from Delhi to Bihar, it has become difficult to find seats on several key trains. Among the available options are Tejas Rajdhani Express, Sampoorna Kranti Express, Sampark Kranti Express, Vaishali Express, Purbia Express, Magadh Express, Amrit Bharat Express, and Garib Rath. None of these options have vacant seats in November. This means that for those who could not book tickets, the options are constantly shrinking. Now, they must hope for special Sahara Puja trains.

The situation with trains from Mumbai to Bihar is also causing concern. On train 13202 LTT-Rajgir Express, the waitlist increased from 14 to 16 by November 3rd, starting October 31st. From November 5th to 10th, the status remains consistently 'Regret', and on November 11th, the waitlist reaches 17. On train 12336 LTT-Bhagalpur Express, the waitlist reached 40 on November 1st and 37 on November 8th; this train also shows 'Regret' on November 3rd and 10th. Furthermore, increased demand is expected for train 12141 Pataliputra Express, which runs directly from Mumbai to Pataliputra before Chhath.

Options for those traveling from Hyderabad to Bihar are even more limited. Among the main trains on this route is 12791 Superfast Express, which covers a distance of about 1830 kilometers and arrives in Danapur in approximately 32 hours and 50 minutes. This train already showed 'Regret' on many dates in October. This creates difficulties for passengers who rely solely on one train when planning last-minute trips during the holidays.

After train tickets became unavailable, passengers have the option of flying, but the financial blow is even greater here. On the Delhi-Patna route, economy class air tickets have reached levels from 8,000 to 13,000 rupees since early November. On the Mumbai-Patna route, economy ticket prices exceed 16,000 rupees. As for the Hyderabad-Patna route, the price exceeds 23,000 rupees. On the Delhi-Darbhanga route, the starting price for November is from 9,000 to 16,000 rupees. As the festive dates approach and demand rises, air travel becomes unaffordable for the average person.

The story of those returning to Jharkhand for Diwali and Chhath is not unique. A Mumbai-Ranchi flight reached 26,000 rupees. Destinations like Delhi-Ranchi, Durgapur, and Deoghar cost about twice as much in November as on regular days. Moreover, airfares from Mumbai and Bangalore to these cities have seen nearly a threefold increase. The situation for passengers heading to Dhanbad is even more complicated, as they have to consider flights via Ranchi, Durgapur, or Deoghar.

Given the crowd during the holidays, the railway has resorted to using additional trains. The launch of 16 pairs of special trains for Bihar is planned, which will conduct about 400 services from October 1st to November 30th. Additionally, one to two extra air-conditioned coaches will be added to regular trains as needed. These routes include Chandigarh-Patna, Firozpur Kant-Patna, Anand Vihar-Jogbani, Delhi-Sitamadhi, and Pataliputra-Anand Vihar.

The railway company has also provided special trains for Jharkhand. The launch of the Ajmer-Ranchi special train is planned. Furthermore, the frequency of the special train from Anand Vihar to Santragachi via Ranchi has been increased. The special train Ranchi-Anand Vihar-Ranchi 02977 will operate from October 3rd to November 29th. It will depart from Ranchi to Anand Vihar every Saturday and arrive back in Ranchi on Monday, departing from Anand Vihar on Sunday. In addition, the launch of trains 102 and Festival Special has been announced, which will run on high-demand routes, including destinations from various cities across the country to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bengal.