Wednesday 27 December 2023

Vande Bharat - The Pride of Indian Railways

When did you last travel by a train? What keeps you away from a train journey? Noisy coaches and smelly wash rooms?

Well, those reasons are a thing of past! Try a Vande Bharat train. It connects cities up to 600 kms apart. Six to eight-hour journey in luxurious coaches. Noise and dust free cruising at steady 110 kmph. Bio-vacuum toilets as in an aircraft. Courteous staff, great food. Don’t believe it?

Ghumakkad recently travelled by Vande Bharat trains between Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Sharing few pictures for you to appreciate the quality of service offered by the Indian Railways.




The doors of the coaches open automatically. See the short video below.












See the short video clip of rotatable chairs. Complete 360 degrees rotation could not be captured as the chairs were not in the upright position.







It is not only the trains where the quality of service has improved, even the waiting halls at the stations have undergone a transformation. See two pictures of the AC waiting hall at Kacheguda railway station below.



Currently, there are 35 Vande Bharat trains in India which is likely to reach the target of 75 trains. The coaches of Vande Bharat are made in India by the Integral Coach Factory. The trains operate in two configurations of 16-coaches or 8-coaches. Ghumakkad travelled in an 8-coach service. Hyderabad-Bengaluru fare for executive chair car over the Christmas weekend was Rs 2956 including all meals, convenience fee and credit card fee. 

Train journeys are always fun. We share below some of our earlier stories of train travel both in India and overseas. Whether it is the roving chaat-wallah in a train or going through a tunnel, there is nothing like a train journey!

Vizag to Araku by the 'Royal' Class 

Taj Mahal at Dawn - Straight from the railway station

A Train Journey in America

Train to Ranthambor Tiger Reserve

Discovering Rural Wisdom and Innovation - Through a train journey in Saurashtra

Of course, vande bharat train does not permit the roving chaat-wallahs in the coaches, but in-the-train catering by the railways makes up for it. Do give it a shot! Vande Bharat- the changing face of Indian railways. Those who have already travelled by Vande Bharat, do share your experience.

Thanks for browsing. This story also came to you from a moving train!

-        Harsh-the-Ghumakkad / Vande Bharat Train/ 26th Dec 23

#trainjourneys #travel #fun #indianrailways #vandebharat #prideofindianrailways #biovaccumtoilets #veterans #seniorcitizens #bloggingfromrunningtrain #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #qualityofservice 


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25 comments:

  1. lekha sishta27 December 2023 at 23:34

    Thank you, Harsh.. Renewing my faith in railways.. Looks far more comfortable than a squished flight seat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harsh Bhargava28 December 2023 at 14:13

      Thanks Lekha. Seats in EC car are very spacious.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous28 December 2023 at 07:29

    I have done six journeys and enjoyed always ! Looking forward to travel to Kashmir over the highest Railway bridge in the world

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harsh Bhargava28 December 2023 at 14:14

      Yes, that would be scenic and exciting. Thanks

      Delete
  3. Anonymous28 December 2023 at 08:08

    Incredible Indian Railways! Would like to experience for sure !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mohandas Anandan28 December 2023 at 09:49

    Nice article on Vande Bharat - You have covered all the aspects that an ordinary traveler looks for in a train journey. Probably Indian Railways should pay you for this article/ service.!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous28 December 2023 at 09:51

    Reading lots of awe moments and experiences of train journeies Not only by Indians but friends from abroad. Will share my experience ASAP Sir. Warm Regards

    ReplyDelete
  6. Trixie Asirvatham28 December 2023 at 11:19

    Great article Harsh! It does tempt one to travel by Vande Bharat, the way you describe it.

    Also read your article on the Taj. Beautifully done. Hats off to the digital shutterbug!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harsh Bhargava28 December 2023 at 14:17

      Thanks Trixie. Now you have a convenient mode of travel to Hyderabad. Do plan a trip.

      Delete
  7. K SASHIDHARAN28 December 2023 at 11:28

    Thanks for sharing Harsh. You have covered everything in detail, what one looks for for comfortable train journey.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sangeeta28 December 2023 at 11:39

    Thank you for sharing .
    Would definitely love to experience Vande Bharat Train journey.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous28 December 2023 at 12:56

    S Rangaiah
    Thankyou Cmde Harsh!
    Yes, the impressions about the VandeBharat brought out are pretty apt.
    The travel experience I have had on 01 December by Vande Bharat from Kachiguda to Bangalore
    (Yashwantpur) was extremely nice. Fabulous seats, great ambiance, no jerks, no external noises, feel of floating in air, meticulously maintained coaches, particularly the toilets. The train speeding up @125+kmph.
    You are very well treated with quality tea/biscuits to start with followed by delicious breakfast and then sumptuous lunch, during a mere 8 hrs journey. The TTE and the staff were very courteous. You donot feel the strain of travel at all.
    Ideal to travel distances upto 1000kms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harsh Bhargava28 December 2023 at 14:20

      Thanks for sharing your experience of Vande Bharat. Am glad it was a pleasant journey.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous28 December 2023 at 13:15

    In - retro,our - College days train travel in Unreserved , toilet side sit-in, slow express trains, push to get in & getout , rush out to have a meal at the mealstations, drinking water collection crowds have disappeared ( except in Bihar, U.P Bengal ) . Project 22 trains brainchild of G.M , ICF Chennai ( he retired in Dec 22) & his engineers ( most of them non- IITs ), is pride of Indian Railways

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harsh Bhargava28 December 2023 at 14:21

      Well recounted. Yes, the contribution of PSUs like the ICF Chennai is noteworthy. Thanks for writing.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous28 December 2023 at 13:17

    Dear Harsh, I remain anonymous

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous29 December 2023 at 14:21

    I guess you got lucky with your Vande Bharath travel. I took one from Bangalore to Madras about a year ago and found it worse than the Brindavan Express and Lal Bagh express. The food was substandard, the cost was much more and the speed was slower than other trains for whatever reason. What is not happening is that they are not improving the size, hygiene and layout of the toilets.
    Anyway, nice to know you had a good time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harsh Bhargava29 December 2023 at 16:24

      Thanks for sharing your experience. We only hope it was an aberration and the service is now better.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous31 December 2023 at 11:27

    Shall try ar the earliest opportunity. Regards GBS

    ReplyDelete

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