Tirupati-Sec'bad Vande Bharat to run via Guntur, Nalgonda

Tirupati: In the next 10 days, pilgrims can reach Tirupati by the famed Vande Bharat Express. The South Central Railway has proposed to launch the train between Secunderabad and Tirupati on April 8. The inaugural service is expected to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Secunderabad while the regular service will start from Tirupati on April 9. However, the timings are to be formally approved by the Railway Board. According to the proposal submitted to the Railway Board by the SCR, the inaugural special will leave Secunderabad at 11.30 am on April 9 and reach Tirupati at 9 pm. En route, it will stop in Nalgonda, Miryalaguda, Piduguralla, Guntur, Tenali, Bapatla, Chirala, Ongole, Nellore and Gudur.

However, the regular service will leave Tirupati at 3.15 pm on April 9 and reach Secunderabad at 11.45 pm. In the return direction, the service leaves Secunderabad at 6 am and reaches Tirupati at 2.30 pm. It will be operated six days in a week and there will be no service on Tuesdays. The running time of Vande Bharat Express will be 8.30 hours with an average speed of 77.73 kmph to cover 660.77 km. En route, it will stop in Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole and Nellore stations only.

The SCR has reportedly considered some other routes also to operate Vande Baharat between Secunderabad and Tirupati, but decided on to operate via Nalgonda – Guntur as it will be the ideal route. Speaking to The Hans India, Tirupati station director K Satyanarayana said the Vande Bharat Express will have eight coaches in which one will be the executive coach. In the executive coach, passengers' seats can rotate in 360 degrees and will have more comfort. The fares include the food being supplied to the passengers. The primary maintenance of the rake will be done at Secunderabad while the other end maintenance (OEM) will be done at Tirupati. Reacting to the proposal to operate the Vande Bharat Express between Tirupati and Secunderabad, several passengers at the station expressed happiness. A passenger said that it will be more convenient to reach Tirupati quickly compared with other trains and will have a comfortable journey. Going by the enthusiasm of the passengers, the train is all set to receive a huge patronage from the initial trips itself.Meanwhile, the rake of Vande Bharat Express reached Tirupati on Friday evening from Chennai. It left for Secunderbad as part of the trial run and will reach the destination at 11.45 pm.