Mumbai-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Train to run with 20 coaches from tomorrow
By Arun Kumar Das
New Delhi, Apr 27: From tomorrow (April 28), the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express will run with 20 coaches instead of 16 coaches on a permanent basis to cater to the increased demand from passengers.
The augmented four coaches comprise three AC Chair Car coaches and one Executive Class coach, offering passengers significantly improved seating availability on one of India’s busiest and most sought-after inter-city rail corridors.
The decision is a direct response to the sustained and overwhelming demand the service has witnessed since its introduction, Railway officials said.
What began as a temporary augmentation to address peak travel requirements has now been formalised into a permanent operational arrangement, a reflection of Indian Railways’ commitment to matching its capacity with the confidence its passengers have placed in it.
Till now, 162 Vande Bharat services had been operationalised, reducing journey times by up to 45 percent on several corridors. Of these, 90 services are operating with 8-coach formations, 38 services with 20-coach formations and 34 services with 16 coaches.
This indicates that approximately 23.45 per cent of Vande Bharat services have been upgraded to 20 coaches, while around 21 per cent operate with 16 coaches, with the remaining services continuing in the 8-coach configuration.
The 491-kilometre route, completing its journey in 5 hours 30 minutes and halting at Borivali, Vapi, Surat, and Vadodara, connects two of western India’s most economically vibrant cities.
It serves a diverse cross-section of passengers, including business travellers, students, daily commuters, and tourists, for whom speed, comfort, and reliability are no longer aspirations but expectations.
Nearly 4 crore passengers travelled on Vande Bharat services in FY 2025-26, registering a year-on-year growth of approximately 34 percent. Since its inception in 2019, the Vande Bharat Express has served over 9.1 crore passengers across 1 lakh trips, according to the Railways
Network-wide occupancy has consistently exceeded 100 percent. These numbers speak not merely to demand, but to a deep and growing trust among the travelling public in the quality and reliability of the service.
The growing popularity of Vande Bharat trains is rooted in a combination of factors that are reshaping how India travels.
A new generation of rail passengers that is younger, more mobile, and increasingly unwilling to compromise on comfort or punctuality has found in the Vande Bharat a service that meets them where their expectations are faster journey times, cleaner coaches, improved on-board experience, and significantly better punctuality compared to conventional services have made these trains the preferred choice on route after route.
