More new Vande Bharat trains from Visakhapatnam? Everything you need to know!

The Zonal Railway User’s Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) member of East Coast Railway (ECoR), Kanchumurthi Eswar, met the Divisional Railway Manager, Lalit Bohra, on Friday, January 16, and presented a representation for introducing Vande Bharat Sleeper trains from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru via Chennai and Tirupati. Additionally, a discussion was held to add a stop at Duvvada for the Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express.

On the other hand, BJP MLA P Vishnu Kumar Raju sought the intervention of Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to introduce new and additional Vande Bharat overnight trains from Visakhapatnam to important destinations, including Hyderabad, Tirupati, Chennai, Vijayawada, and Bengaluru.

In his letter to the Railway Minister, the MLA explained that shifting flight operations from the existing airport to the Bhogapuram airport in the latter half of 2026 would significantly increase passengers’ travel time.

He also mentioned that the journey from Visakhapatnam to the new airport in the Vizianagaram district takes approximately two hours. Adding the two-hour pre-departure check-in, the total time would be six hours.

While there is a loss of time, the increased distance has a financial burden on the passengers. MLA Raju emphasised the need to enhance Vande Bharat services, noting that they could save between Rs 600 and Rs 900 crore annually in fuel costs by reducing reliance on private cabs.

He stated that the Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER) aims to achieve a $130 billion GDP and create 20 million new jobs by 2032, emphasising the importance of affordable and robust railway connectivity.

The MLA requested the Railway Ministry to introduce more Vande Bharat train services as a more logical, economic, and passenger-friendly alternative. In the letter, the need to prioritise the routes of Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada, and introduce new services to Chennai, Tirupati, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru is mentioned.

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