New Delhi: With ‘Vande Bharat’ trains running at almost full capacity on 10 routes, 60 MPs, including 14 MPs from non-NDA parties, have urged the Railways to start operating state-of-the-art trains connecting their respective cities. Do it. constituencies. While most of the petitions have come from BJP MPs, including senior leader Devendra Fadnavis, who have demanded running of the train between Solapur and Mumbai. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has requested for Vande Bharat train from Dharwad to Bengaluru and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia for train to Gwalior.
Official data shows that of the 10 currently running Vande Bharat trains, the Bilaspur-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express had the least occupancy in this financial year till January, while the Mumbai-Gandhinagar route recorded the highest number of seats.
The Bilaspur-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express had an occupancy rate of 55 per cent, while the train running between Mumbai and Gandhinagar recorded an occupancy rate of 126 per cent, the data showed.
Among opposition parties, one MP each from NCP, DMK, SP, MP and JD(U) has demanded such trains for their constituencies, while three MPs from Congress, CPI(M) and YSRCP have demanded two. The MPs have also demanded the same. ,
Other party MPs – one each from Apna Dal and Shiv Sena have also demanded indigenous trains. Vande Bharat Express train provides better ride for the passengers. The train has automatic plug doors, touch-free sliding doors, revolving seats in executive class, 32 inch passenger information and infotainment system in every coach, among others. Apart from this, the train has several safety features like introduction of armour, CCTV and improved fire safety measures. It takes just 129 seconds for these trains to reach the speed of 160 km/h.
