Vande Bharat popular but price keeps many away

Zipping past on a train which offers the comfort of a first-class cruise has helped Vande Bharat win hearts but the costly fare between Bengaluru and Mysuru means 50% of the seats remain vacant with the 10-lane expressway set to pose a tough competition in the coming days.

During a familiarisation tour of the train organised for the mediapersons, the high fare was an issue that came up repeatedly during interactions with passengers. The journey from Bengaluru to Mysuru costs Rs 515 while the return direction costs Rs 720.

As per the officials from the South Western Railways, the Vade Bharat train service introduced last month has become a hit between Bengaluru and Chennai with the average seat occupancy at nearly 100%.

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"The occupancy on Bengaluru-Mysuru route is 53% while in the return direction it is 45%. It goes up to 80% during festival days or some weekends. But on an average about 50% of the seats remain vacant. We hope to attract more passengers in the coming days," a senior official told DH.

Krishna Prasad of the Karnataka Railway Vedike said the railways need to look into fares to attract more passengers. "There is never enough trains for the Bengaluru-Mysuru route. However, the railways do not have to run Vande Bharat train half empty. At the least, it should be ready to compete with the AC-class buses, where the fare is less than Rs 300," he said.

He also noted that public transport should discourage private vehicles. "If the 10-lane expressway opens, we will see more people shifting to their own cars. The railways should ensure it doesn't lose its commuters," he said.

Asked about the possibility of revising the price to attract more passengers, officials said such a decision cannot be taken in isolation. "The entire Chennai-Mysore section's revenue will be considered while evaluating the commercial returns. However, the suggestions of the commuters will be considered," the official said.

Deepak N T, an entrepreneur travelling to Bengaluru, said he booked the ticket "for the sake of experience". "I had seen news and videos of the airplane-like interiors and wanted to experience it once. I wouldn't travel on the train on a regular basis," he said.

Timings

The present timings of Vande Bharat are clashing with the Shatabdi Express. From Bengaluru, Vande Bharat departs just 20 minutes ahead of Shatabdi in the morning. The trains depart Mysuru within a gap of 15 minutes in the afternoon. Krishna Prasad suggested that the railways should explore timings to keep both the trains from competing with each other.

Curves remain constraints

While the Vande Bharat models are equipped to run at a speed of 160 kmph, the train on Mysuru-Bengaluru route can barely crosses 100 kmph due to several constraints.
A senior official said curvature of the tracks at several places along the stretch was a major hurdle to speed up the train further. "The maximum speed allowed on the Bengaluru-Mysuru section is 100 kmph. Anything beyond that requires elimination of some curves and correction of others. At some places, this requires acquisition of land. Vande Bharat trains can perform much better if the track conditions improve," he said.