Solapur-Mumbai train tops in occupancy among three Vande Bharat services of Central Railway

Mumbai: Of the three Vande Bharat Express trains plying on its network, the Solapur-CSMT (Mumbai) train has had the highest occupancy in May, the Central Railway (CR) said on Friday.

The other two semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains operated by the CR ply on Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi and Nagpur-Bilaspur routes.

The Solapur-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Vande Bharat Express registered top occupancy of 125.23 per cent, followed by CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat Express at 119.45 per cent this month, it said in a release.

The Bilaspur-Nagpur and Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express trains registered 97.92 per cent and 95.08 per cent occupancy, respectively.

CSMT-Sainagar and Sainagar-CSMT Vande Bharat trains recorded 93 per cent and 84 per cent occupancy, respectively.

All three trains received "overwhelming response" in May 2023, the CR claimed.

CSMT-Solapur and CSMT-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat trains were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 10 this year. Before that, he had flagged off Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express on December 11, 2022.

Vande Bharat Express trains have been indigenously designed and can reach a maximum speed of 160 kmph.