India’s largest national transporter Indian Railways has stopped the Vande Bharat Express train running from Nagpur in Maharashtra to Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. According to a report in a local news website, the semi high speed train has been canceled due to overwhelming response from passengers. As per the government notification the rake of Vande Bharat train has been replaced by Tejas Express. Tejas Express was launched as the fastest train in India but has been replaced by Vande Bharat Express trains as the fastest train in India.
The report further states that going forward Vande Bharat rakes will be used on the Tirupati-Secunderabad route. The Nagpur-Bilaspur route of the Vande Bharat Express has the lowest occupancy among all the 15 routes on which the train was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
According to reports, the train reached Nagpur Junction on Sunday with only 50 per cent passengers. Tejas Express will run on the same route and its timing will be equal to that of Vande Bharat Express.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express in December 2022. According to experts, among the reasons cited for the low load factor, high fare prices are the biggest reason for so little interest among passengers. An executive class ticket on the Vande Bharat Express on the Bilaspur-Nagpur route cost Rs 2,045, while an AC chair car ticket cost Rs 1,075 per person.
The Tejas Express was launched in 2017 as India’s first corporate train, fully operated by IRCTC, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways. Till the introduction of Vande Bharat Express, Tejas was the most luxurious train with facilities like LED TV, WiFi and CCTV.