Vande Bharat to run as per schedule today: Rlys NEW DELHI/AGRA: A day after its flag-off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Vande Bharat Express developed a technical snag on Saturday morning on its return journey from Varanasi to the national capital.Initially, a railway spokesperson said the snag might have been caused by the “train running over cattle” on the tracks. However, by evening, the railways said, “There was an issue of communication between the last basic unit of four coaches and the rest of the train probably due to some external hit. Thereafter, safety features in the train applied brakes.” The railways said the train is fit for its commercial run starting Sunday.The train at an unscheduled stop. It took over 14 hrs to reach Delhi from Varanasi, a 6-hr delaySources said the train faced a “brake-binding” snag around 5.30am near Tundla junction due to some failure in the system resulting in skidding of the wheels of the last coaches, which impacted the train’s entire system. Power went out in all the coaches and even the air-conditioning stopped. As per sources, it was stuck near Tundla for over an hour. The train had left Varanasi Junction at 10.35pm for Delhi on Friday, barely 45 minutes after reaching the holy city. It reched Delhi at 1pm, a delay of around six and a half hours.An official release said all systems of the train have also been thoroughly examined and “the train will be able to run as per schedule on February 17”.The first commercial run has been fully booked.Currently, there’s only one train — it will go to Varanasi in the morning and return to Delhi the same day — and as such if it develops a snag the entire schedule may get affected. Half a dozen mediapersons, including a TOI reporter, were shifted to Vikramshila Express by the officials after the snag so they could return to Delhi.Officials of North Central Railway told TOI that the train’s brakes were automatically locked after one of the four pantographs — an apparatus mounted on the roof of an electric train to collect power through contact with an overhead line — malfunctioned. The train was brought from Barhan to Hathras at 8.55am and left for Delhi at 10.23am. An official said, “Such small glitches will often come to light for some months as the crew members don’t have enough experience with the new technology used in the train. There is a need of at least three months’ trial on smaller stretches before launching it for a longer journey.”<doc-sep>Train 18 took its inaugural journey from New Delhi to Varanasi today. Train 18 took its inaugural journey from New Delhi to Varanasi today. IRCTC Train 18 Vande Bharat Express Route, Ticket Booking, Timings: The Vande Bharat Express train – also called the Train 18 – which was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, is India’s first semi-high speed trainset. The train took its inaugural journey Friday from New Delhi with Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and other railway board members on board. The centrally air-conditioned luxury train will connect New Delhi to Varanasi, a distance of more than 750 km at a speed of 130 kmph, completing the journey in around eight hours. It will make stops at Kanpur and Allahabad. The train will depart from New Delhi at 6 am and will reach Varanasi at 2 pm, on its return journey on the same day it will depart from Varanasi at 3pm and reach Delhi at 11 pm. It will ply on the route for five days a week except on Mondays and Thursdays. A ticket to New Delhi-Varanasi will cost Rs 3,310 for executive class (EC) and Rs 1,760 for the chair car (CC), including taxes. Between Delhi and Kanpur, the fares will be Rs 1,090 in the chair car (CC) class and Rs 2,105 in the executive class (EC). While the ticket price for travel between Delhi and Allahabad is Rs 1,395 for CC class and Rs 2,750 for the EC class, between Kanpur and Allahabad, the price for CC class tickets will be Rs 595 and for EC class tickets it is Rs 1,170. Tickets are now available and can be bought over the counter or booked on irctc.co.in. The train, an indigenous product under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the NDA government, has been built at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. According to railway officials, the Vande Bharat Express will soon replace Shatabdi Express trains that run between Delhi and Varanasi route.<doc-sep>Vande Bharat Express: Train 18 will run between Delhi and Varanasi five days a week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off Train 18, the country's first semi-high speed train, from the New Delhi Railway Station, the government said in a statement. The commercial run of Train 18, the bookings for which have already begun, will start from February 17. Also known as Vande Bharat Express, Train 18 will run on New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route. The Vande Bharat Express will cover the distance between Delhi and Varanasi in eight hours and will run on all days except Mondays and Thursdays, according to the official statement. Here are the 10 things to know about Vande Bharat Express' ticket prices, routes and facilities: 1. A Delhi-Varanasi journey by the train will cost Rs 3,310 (per head) and Rs 1,760 for Executive Class (EC) and Chair Car (CC), respectively. These ticket prices for Train 18 journeys are inclusive of taxes. On train's return journey, the fare for a journey from Varanasi to New Delhi for the CC booking class has been fixed at Rs 1,700 whereas that for the EC class will cost Rs 3,260, news agency IANS (Indo Asian News-Service) quoted railway officials as saying. 2. The fares for a Delhi-Kanpur journey by Vande Bharat Express (Train 18) has been fixed at Rs 1,090 for CC and Rs 2,105 for EC, and those for a Delhi-Prayagraj journey at Rs 1,395 and Rs 2,750, respectively. 3. Tickets for a journey between Kanpur and Prayagraj will cost Rs 595 for CC and Rs 1,170 for EC. A journey between Kanpur and Varanasi will cost Rs 1,020 for the CC class and Rs 1,815 for EC. 4. No concession and child fare will be allowed in this train, railway officials added. 5. Passengers travelling from Delhi to Varanasi in EC booking class will be charged Rs 399 for morning tea, breakfast and lunch, while those opting for CC will have to pay Rs 344. Similarly, the passengers travelling from New Delhi to Kanpur and Prayagraj will have to pay Rs 155 and Rs 122 for EC and CC, respectively. 6. From Varanasi to New Delhi, the passengers will be charged Rs 349 and Rs 288 in the EC and CC, respectively. They will be served evening tea with snacks and dinner. 7.Train 18 has 16 air-conditioned coaches of which two are executive class. The total seating capacity is 1,128 passengers. 8. Every coach has a pantry facility to serve hot meals and, hot and cold beverages. The insulation is meant to keep heat and noise to very low levels for additional passenger comfort. 9. All coaches of Train 18 are equipped with automatic doors, a GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system and an on-board hotspot WiFi system. All toilets are bio-vacuum type. The lighting is dual mode, that is diffused for general illumination and personal for every seat. 10. The train has a regenerative braking system which can save up to 30 per cent of electrical energy, according to news agency Press Trust of India. (With inputs from agencies)<doc-sep>
NEW DELHI: Bookings have started for the first commercial run of the Vande Bharat Express , billed as India's fastest train, on February 17 between Delhi and Varanasi, railways said Thursday. Tickets can be bought over the counter or booked on irctc.co.in. Train 18, which was recently renamed as Vande Bharat Express by Railway minister Piyush Goyal , became the country's fastest train by hitting speeds of over 180 kmph during a trial run on a section of the Delhi-Varanasi route. However, speed restrictions on the route will mean that the new train set can hit a maximum speed of 130 kmph. The train will leave the national capital at 6 am and reach Varanasi at 2 pm. On the same day, it will leave Varanasi at 3pm and reach Delhi at 11 pm. The Vande Bharat Express will operate for five days in a week, except on Monday and Thursday. From Delhi to Varanasi, an air-conditioned chair car ticket will cost Rs 1,760 and the executive class fare will be Rs 3,310, while in the return journey, a chair car ticket will cost Rs 1,700 and that of a seat in the executive class Rs 3,260. Both fares are inclusive of catering charges. The chair car fares are 1.4 times the base price of Shatabdi trains running the same distance and that of the executive class 1.3 times of a first class air-conditioned ticket in the premium train. The Vande Bharat Express is a all air-conditioned luxury train and will take around eight hours to travel between Delhi and Varanasi, halting at only two stations - Kanpur and Allahabad. The tatkal quota would be five per cent of the total accommodation for the respective classes on the Vande Bharat Express, and no concessions or a different fare for a child passenger are being offered, the railways said. "However, passes of MPs, coupons of MLAs, other coupons, military/paramilitary warrants and others having fully reimbursable fare to railways shall be allowed. Booking shall be allowed only on duty passes for railway servants. "No other railway passes like privilege, complimentary, post retirement complimentary passes shall be permissible in this train," a railway order said. The ticket fares between Delhi and Kanpur will be Rs 1,090 in the chair car (CC) class and Rs 2,105 in the executive class (EC) for a distance of 447 km, it said. Between Delhi and Allahabad (642 km), the ticket price for CC class will be Rs 1,395 and Rs 2,750 for the EC class, Kanpur and Allahabad (195 km), the price for CC will be Rs 595 and for EC Rs 1,170, the order said. The price of a ticket between Kanpur and Varanasi (319 km) will be Rs 1,020 and Rs 1,815 for CC and EC classes respectively. The train will have differently priced meals as well, it said. Tickets include meal charges. Passengers travelling from New Delhi to Varanasi in the executive class will be charged Rs 399 for morning tea, breakfast and lunch, and travellers in the chair car Rs 344 for the same. Those travelling from New Delhi to Kanpur and Prayagraj will be charged Rs 155 and Rs 122 for executive and CC classes, respectively. From Varanasi to New Delhi, passengers Rs 349 in the executive class and Rs 288 in chair car, according to the order. Passengers cannot opt out of meals. But those travelling from Allahabad to Varanasi and on the return journey Varanasi to Allahabad can opt out of meals, saving Rs 222 on CC tickets and Rs 244 on EC tickets by opting out of the meals provided by the IRCTC. The Vande Bharat Express was manufactured under the 'Make in India' initiative at Indian Coach Factory in Chennai. Facebook Twitter Linkedin EMail