Mumbai, 11 February 2026

 

As the railway network straddles across State boundaries, trains are introduced across such boundaries as per network requirement. On originating/terminating basis, 24 Vande Bharat Express services are catering to the needs of various stations located in the State of Maharashtra while 10 Vande Bharat Express services (including 26505/26506 Khajuraho-Banaras Vande Bharat Express introduced w.e.f. 11.11.2025), are catering to the needs of various stations located in the State of Madhya Pradesh. These are listed below:

Vande Bharat serving Maharashtra:

SN	Train no. and name	Frequency
1	26101/26102 Pune-Ajni Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
2	20101/20102 Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
3	20669/20670 Hubballi-Pune Vande Bharat Express	3 Days a week
4	20673/20674 SCSM(T) Kolhapur-Pune Vande Bharat Express	3 Days a week
5	22961/22962 Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
6	20705/20706 H. S. Nanded-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T) Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
7	22229/22230 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
8	20911/20912 Indore-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
9	22223/22224 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
10	22225/22226 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Solapur Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
11	20825/20826 Bilaspur-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
12	20901/20902 Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Capital Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week

 

Vande Bharat serving Madhya Pradesh:

 

SN	Train no. and name	Frequency
1	20171/20172 Rani Kamlapati-Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
2	20173/20174 Rani Kamlapati-Rewa Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
3	20911/20912 Indore-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
4	22469/22470 Khajuraho-Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express	6 Days a week
5	26505/26506 Khajuraho-Banaras Vande Bharat Express (introduced w.e.f. 11.11.2025)	6 Days a week

 

These Vande Bharat services, inter alia, are providing connectivity to major destinations like Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Shirdi, Nashik, Ratnagiri, Solapur, Secunderabad, Prayagraj, Banaras, Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore, Jabalpur, Khajuraho, Maihar, Rewa, etc. and are thereby catering to the needs of Pilgrims and Tourists as well.

Besides, introduction of new trains including Vande Bharat train services on any route/section depends on various factors which include:

• Capacity of that section

• Availability of path

• Availability of required rolling stock

• Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock

• Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets

 

Track infrastructure

Strengthening, upgradation, modernisation and improvement of track infrastructure is a continuous and ongoing process over Indian Railways. The  following  measures  are  being  taken  by  Indian  Railways  to  upgrade railway tracks:

• Modern track structure consisting of 60kg, 90 Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Wider and heavier Pre-stressed Concrete Sleepers (PSC) with elastic fastening, fan-shaped layout turnout on PSC sleepers and H-beam Sleepers on girder bridges are being used while carrying out primary track renewals.

1. The Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossings are being used in turnout renewal works.
2. Supply of 260m long rail panels have been increased to avoid welding of joints, thereby improving safety.
3. Thick Web Switch Expansion Joints are being used in place of earlier Conventional/Improved SEJs.
4. Adoption of better welding technology for rails i.e. Flash Butt Welding.
5. Adoption of mechanized system for track maintenance using high output plain tampers and points & crossing tampers for improved maintainability & reliability of track.
6. Deployment of state-of-the-art modern machines including Rail Grinding Machines to further improve asset reliability.
7. Mechanisation of track laying activities through use of track machines like PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc.
8. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates for enhancing safety at LC gates.
9. Use of advanced Phased Array technology of testing of rail and welds.
10. Deployment of Integrated Track Monitoring Systems (ITMS) and Oscillation Monitoring System (OMS) for comprehensive health assessment to ascertain optimal maintenance requirements.
11. Adoption of portable Track Measuring Trolley for continuous recording of track parameters in yards.

Using web enabled Track Management System (TMS) for integration and data analytics of the track inspection records received through various sources to enable precise maintenance inputs.

As a result of the above measures, there has been a significant increase in speed potential of the tracks. The details of speed potential of railway tracks during 2014 vis-a-vis 2025 are as under:

Sectional Speed  (kmph)	2014		2025 (up to Dec’25)
	Track Km	%	Track Km	%
130 & above	5,036	6.3	23,010	21.8
110 - 130	26,409	33.3	61,234	57.9
< 110	47,897	60.4	21,428	20.3
Total	79,342	100	1,05,672	100

 

Affordable Fares

Railways are running different types of train services like suburban locals/ordinary, non-suburban local/ordinary, Mail/Express, Superfast trains, Garib Rath, Gatimaan, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Mahamana, Amrit Bharat, Vande Bharat, Vande Bharat Sleeper, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, Humsafar, Tejas, Special trains on special charges etc.

Railways always strive to provide affordable services to all strata of society. Accordingly, it operates different categories of train services to cater to the travel needs of various categories of society which include trains with lower fare to give benefit to underprivileged sections of the society and also trains with enhanced facilities.

Indian Railways gave subsidies of ₹ 60,466 crore on passenger tickets in 2023-24. This amounts to a concession of 45% on an average, to every person travelling on Railways. In other words, if the cost of providing service is       ₹ 100, then the price of the ticket is ₹ 55 only. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers. Further, concessions beyond this subsidy amount are continuing for many categories like 4 categories of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans), 11 categories of patients and 8 categories of students.

 

Local cuisine options

The menu of prestigious Vande Bharat trains are being designed by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), on the basis of regional/popular demand by the travelling passengers. IRCTC has introduced Regional/local cuisines of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in the Vande Bharat trains operating in the states, towards offering a more personalized experience. Some of the Regional/local dishes introduced are Paneer Kolhapuri, Murg Kolhapuri, Kobhichi Bha, Batata Muttor Bhaji, Batata Poha, Kanda Poha, Indori Poha, Sev tamatar sabji, Ajwain paratha, Ragi Bhakhri, Patra Bhagar, Khoya Chicken, Ragi Thepla, Bhey (Spicy Lotus stems), etc.

Introduction of these Regional/local dishes have given passengers the opportunity to enjoy authentic local flavors and connect with the local culture.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

 

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