PM Narendra Modi to flag off Vande Bharat trains to Shirdi, Solapur from Mumbai on Feb 10

According to IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation) sources, the menu on the two Vande Bharat Express trains will be a combination of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food mainly comprising delicacies from Maharashtra.

The probable dishes for breakfast might include sabudana groundnut khichadi/jowar bhakhri and besan pola along with sorghum/sheng-dana chiwda/bhadang.

Meanwhile, the dinner may comprise veg groundnut pulao/pea groundnut pulao, bhakar, aamti/danyachi usal, jhunka (semi gravy besan sabji), and sauji chicken/chicken tamda rassa/chicken Kolhapuri.

The probable evening snack items are sabudana vada/shegaon kachori/kothimbir vadi, thali peeth/multigrain bhadang/sabudana wada/bhakarwadi.

Millet dishes will also be a special feature of the menu on the two trains, said sources. Notably, the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’.

The Vande Bharat trains that are being introduced for Shirdi and Solapur may have costlier fares compared to other ordinary express trains. The expected chair car fare from Mumbai to Shirdi is Rs 800 and a ticket for the executive class may cost Rs 1,630, whereas for an ordinary train between Dadar and Shirdi, a second air-conditioned (2 AC) class ticket costs Rs 895, and a third AC ticket is priced at Rs 645. The distance between Dadar and Shirdi is 336 km.

The ticket prices on an ordinary train from the CSMT to Solapur (455 km) are Rs 1,100 (2AC), Rs 790 (3AC), and Rs 305 (sleeper class), whereas tickets for the Vande Bharat train may cost Rs 995 (chair car) and Rs 1,700 (executive). The ticket prices for both Vande Bharat trains are yet to be finalised.