HYDERABAD: The South Central Railway (SCR) is planning to launch its first Vande Bharat Express on the Kacheguda and Bengaluru route. The train is expected to cover a distance of 618 kilometres in 7-8 hours.
The train will cover major stations in Rayalaseema and south Telangana such as Dharmavaram, Dhone, Kurnool, Gadwal Junction, Mahabubnagar and Shadnagar.
This will be the third Vande Bharat Express for SCR after Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam and Secunderabad-Tirupati.
“When the train launches it will be a 16 coach train with two executive coaches and 14 chair cars. We aim to launch it by the month-end after trial runs,” a senior official said.
Officials said that they are waiting for the new 16 coach train to reach SCR to make the official launch. SCR officials had studied the rising demand for faster connectivity between the two tech hubs as several of the existing trains take anywhere between 11-12 hours. Both existing Vande Bharat trains within SCR have witnessed 100% occupancy.