Indian Railways to operate 20 clone trains from September 21

With an increased demand for tickets in some routes, the Railway Ministry on Tuesday announced to operate 20 pairs of “clone” trains from September 21, including between Bengaluru-Danapur and Yeshwantpur-Hazrath Nizamuddin (Karnataka Sampark Kranthi Express).

These clone trains would run on busy routes in addition to special trains which are already in operation, said the railways in a statement.

"The 19 pairs of Clone Special trains will run by utilizing Humsafar rakes. One pair 04251/04252 Lucknow-Delhi Clone special shall run as Jan Shatabdi Express. Fare of Humsafar rake will be charged as Humsafar trains and for Janshatabdi rake, fare will be charged as Janshatabdi Express. The ARP (Advanced Reservation Period) will be 10 days," the statement said.

Train No 06509 Bengaluru-Danapur would leave Bengaluru at 8 pm on Mondays while Train No 06510 Danapur-Bengaluru would leave Danapur at 6:10 pm on Wednesdays via Prayagraj, Itarsi, Nagpur, Vijaywada and Chennai.

The Yeshwantpur-Hazrath Nizamuddin (Karnataka Sampark Kranthi) would leave Yeshwantpur (06523) at 1:55 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays while Train No 06524 would leave Nizamuddin on Saturdays and Tuesdays. It runs via Hubballi, Belagavi, Pune and Agra.

To cater to demand, the railways decided to operate clone trains based on the patronization of already operating Special trains with limited stoppages and faster transit time. The clone trains will be primarily 3 AC trains and run ahead of the already operating special trains, the railways said.

"The clone train will have speed higher than the existing special train," the railways said.