BJP blows poll bugle with Vande Bharat trains; tickets at par with flights
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, July 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far flagged off 44 Vande Bharat trains, connecting over 20 States and Union Territories in the country. The fanfare with which the Vande Bharat trains are launched amid media blitzkrieg and political amplifiers suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bid to ride the self-propelled train sets in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
While the political messaging claims to build a narrative that the Modi government has gifted a brand new train service with best of the amenities, the ticket prices make Vande Bharat almost competing with airlines even though the speed remains on average below 90 kmph and mostly in 60s, 70s, and 80s kmph.
New Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat was the first to go off the shelf even while the plan was to connect the national capital with Bhopal. New Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Executive Chair ticket for a train four days later costs Rs 3355. The flight ticket for the same day is available at Rs 3986 on the same route.
Vande Bharat train will take eight hours to reach Varanasi, while the flight will touch down in little over one hour. Yet, the train seeks the passengers to cough the premium price, which is seen to be way above the first class train tickets of the Express trains.
The popular train to Varanasi from New Delhi, the Shiv Ganga Express, charges Rs 2695 for the first class ticket, while the 2A ticket is priced at Rs 1605. This trains takes additional two hours than the Vande Bharat train to reach Varanasi. Incidentally, the first class berths are too few in trains, and they are priced very high and claimed mostly by the pass holders, entitled for free travels.
Patna-Ranchi Vande Bharat train was also recently flagged off, and travel on this train costs prices in multiples of Jan Shatabdi Express on the same route which takes just one hour and 45 minutes more to reach the destination. For instance, the Chair Car in the Vande Bharat Patna-Ranchi comes at Rs 1025, while Chair Car in Jan Shatabdi Express comes for Rs 195. Indeed, the Vande Bharat trains have catering facilities, providing for meals to the passengers.
Now there are reports that the Railways would be examining the train ticket prices of Vande Bharat amid “low-occupancy”. The Railways for about one year has been creating buzz around Vande Bharat even while the national transporter has been accused by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), as well as the Opposition parties of not taking measures to improve the safety infrastructure. Reports also stated that there are over two lakh vacancies for the safety staff in the railways.
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