Passenger capacity on Yeshwantpur-Kacheguda Vande Bharat doubled

Bengaluru: Starting Thursday, the railways will double passenger capacity on the Vande Bharat Express between Bengaluru and Hyderabad, following consistent occupancy rates of over 100%. 

The Yeshwantpur-Kacheguda-Yeshwantpur train service (20703/04) will run with 16 coaches and 1,128 seats, the South Central Railway (SCR) said. 

The train will have 14 Chair Car (CC) and two Executive Class (EC) coaches. The 14 CC coaches will have 1,024 seats, while the two EC coaches will have 104 seats. 

Currently, the train runs with eight coaches and 530 seats. Its seven CC coaches accommodate 478 seats, while the lone EC coach has 52 seats, the SCR said. 

The CC fare is about Rs 1,600 and the EC fare about Rs 2,900. 

Launched on September 25, 2023, the train service completes the distance (609.8 km) in eight hours and 15 minutes with stoppages at Mahbubnagar, Kurnool City, Anantapur and Dharmavaram. It runs six days a week, excluding Wednesdays.