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By Abdul Basheer: Telangana’s second Vande Bharat train, Secunderabad-Tirupati Express, is set to get faster and will accommodate more passengers from May 17 after modifications. The Vande Bharat train’s passenger capacity will increase more than two times. The changes were made considering the high demand for tickets.
The Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express, which connects Hyderabad’s IT City with Lord Venkateswara’s temple in Tirupati, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8. This is also the South Central Railway (SCR) zone’s second semi-high-speed train. The train runs on all days except Tuesday. It departs at 6 am and arrives at the destination around 2:30 pm. The train covers a distance of 662 km.
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The train which was travelling with eight coaches has been enhanced with the revised composition of 16 coaches and 1,128 passenger capacity from May 17. The national transporter has reduced the travel time between the two cities by 15 minutes. It took eight hours and thirty minutes to complete the same distance earlier.
The Secunderabad- Tirupati Vande Bharat Express was initially introduced with eight coaches, which included an executive class and seven chair cars. Since, the introduction of the regular services, the train has been operating with more than 100% patronage consistently. While, Train No 20701 Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express recorded a patronage of 131% in April and 135% in May 2023, Train No 20702 Tirupati-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express recorded a patronage of 136% in April and 138% in May 2023.
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In terms of number of passengers, till May 15, a total of 44,992 passengers have availed the train service in both directions. While 21,798 passengers have travelled by Vande Bharat Express from Secunderabad to Tirupati, another 23,194 passengers have travelled from Tirupati to Secunderabad. Both categories of coaches, executive as well as chair cars, have witnessed more than 100% patronage in both directions.
Hence the modifications were done to facilitate travel for more people. The new composition will have 14 chair cars with 1,024 capacity (instead of the earlier six with a capacity of 478) and two executive classes with 104 capacity (instead of earlier one coach with a capacity of 52).
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