New Delhi, August 28: The Indian Railways has decided to increase the capacity of Vande Bharat trains in view of their increasing popularity and passenger demand. Based on the occupancy of the financial year 2025-26 (till 31 July 2025), the Railways has planned rake replacement and expansion in seven major Vande Bharat services.
According to the plan, three 16 coach Vande Bharat trains will be converted into 20 coaches and four 8 coach trains will be converted into 16 coaches. According to the Railways, new rakes with 20 more coaches will also be included in the service soon. After this, the 16 and 8 coach rakes that will be freed up will be used to start new services.
The status of train services after replacement will be as followsβ
1. Mangaluru Central β Thiruvananthapuram Central (20631/32): 16 coaches to 20 coaches (Southern Railway)
2. Secunderabad β Tirupati (20701/02): 16 coaches to 20 coaches (South Central Railway)
3. Chennai Egmore β Tirunelveli (20665/66): 16 coaches to 20 coaches (Southern Railway)
4. Madurai β Bengaluru Cantt (20671/72): 8 coaches to 16 coaches (Southern Railway)
5. Deoghar β Varanasi (22499/00): 8 coaches to 16 coaches (Northern Railway)
6. Howrah β Rourkela (20871/72): 8 coaches to 16 coaches (South Eastern Railway)
7. Indore β Nagpur (20911/12): 8 coaches to 16 coaches (Western Railway)
Railways believes that This step will not only provide more convenience to passengers but will also meet the ever-increasing demand on these routes.