Sleeper-Class Visakhapatnam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat demanded

Kanchumurthi Eswar, a member of the Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee (ZRUCC), has urged Divisional Railway Manager Lalit Bohra and Senior Divisional Commercial Manager K Saandeep to introduce a Sleeper-Class Vande Bharat Express between Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru, routing it through Tirupati and Chennai. Citing the consistently high passenger volume on this route – particularly from professionals hailing from Visakhapatnam and the north Andhra region working in Bengaluru – he emphasized the urgent need for enhanced overnight travel options.

The proposed Sleeper Vande Bharat would cater specifically to long-distance night journeys, offering sleeper berths and greater onboard comfort. Unlike the current day-only Vande Bharat models, the sleeper version is built for overnight travel at high speeds (up to 180 km/h) offering a faster and more comfortable alternative to existing trains. Introducing such a Vande Bharat service from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru could ease congestion and meet growing demand.

Kanchumurthi Eswar, accompanied by rail activist Venkati B, also requested a scheduled halt at Duvvada for the Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express (train nos 20833/20834 and 20707/20708). They pointed out that this would benefit a significant number of passengers from the southern and western parts of Visakhapatnam who currently rely on Duvvada station.

Additional appeals included:

– Upgrading weekly trains running between Visakhapatnam and destinations like Kollam, Shirdi, Gandhidham, Varanasi, and Chennai into more frequent services due to overwhelming patronage.

– Increasing the number of coaches for the 22707 Visakhapatnam–Tirupati train, which currently operates with just 11 coaches, despite strong demand.

These recommendations aim to improve rail connectivity and enhance passenger convenience across key routes from Visakhapatnam.

Read also: ITC Hotels to build new 200-key hotel in Visakhapatnam

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