Gandinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express: From fares to features — all you need to know

Know the when, where and how of the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express train here.

Routes covered by Vande Bharat 2.0 and Timings:

Being referred to as the ‘Vande Bharat 2.0,’ the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Express train covers a distance of about 540 kilometres in 6 hours 30 minutes. It can travel at a sanctioned speed of 160 kms per hour in 129 seconds.

The train will run to-and-fro between Gandhinagar Capital and Mumbai Central, six days of the week, barring Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel rides the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express train after flagging it off, in Gandhinagar, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Train Number 20901, enroute Mumbai to Gandhinagar, will depart from Mumbai Central (MMCT) at 6:10 AM (IST).

It will halt at three stations – Surat (ST) at 8:50 AM, Vadodara Junction (BRC) at 10:20 AM , and Ahmedabad Junction (ADI) at 11:35, before reaching Gandhinagar Capital (GNC) at 12:30 PM (IST).

The halt timings of the train in Surat is 3 minutes, and 5 minutes each in Vadodara and Ahmedabad.

Train Number 20902, enroute Gandhinagar to Mumbai, will depart from Gandhinagar Capital (GNC) at 2:05 PM (IST).

It arrives at the Ahmedabad Junction (ADI) at 2:40 PM and halts for 3 minutes. It further stops at the Vadodara Junction (BRC) at 4 PM for 5 minutes, and Surat (ST) at 5:40 PM for a total of 10 minutes, before reaching Mumbai Central (MMCT) at 8:35 PM (IST).

Seating in Vande Bharat 2.0:

The train has 16 coaches, with a seating capacity of 1,128 passengers. It offers two spacious compartments to its passengers – AC Chair Car (CC) and Executive Chair Car (EC). While all seats are recliners, passengers travelling in the EC will experience the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats.

Total Fare:

According to the Indian Railways, travel to-and-fro Mumbai and Gandhinagar will cost passengers Rs 1,385, when travelling in its chair class, and Rs 2,505 for an executive class travel.

The total fare charges currently vary across travel websites, based on specific platform regulations, however, it stays within the range of Rs 1,255 and Rs 2,650.

The tickets for travel in the Express train’s executive class cost more than that of chair class.

PM Narendra Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express at Gandhinagar Capital station, Gujarat on Friday. (PTI)

Chair Class Travel Charges:

According to the IRCTC website, the base fare for travel from Gandhinagar to Mumbai is Rs 974, and that from Mumbai to Gandhinagar is Rs 975.

Passengers can pre-book meals, priced at Rs 308 (inclusive of GST) on their way from Gandhinagar to Mumbai, and at Rs 142 (inclusive of GST) while travelling from Mumbai to Gandhinagar.

The reservation and superfast charges for both routes stand at Rs 40 and Rs 45, respectively. The total GST on travel is Rs 53.

Executive Class Travel Charges:

The base fare for travel in an EC, from Mumbai to Gandhinagar is Rs 2,017, and that from Gandhinagar to Mumbai is Rs 2,018.

Passengers can pre-book meals while booking their tickets via IRCTC for Rs 175 enroute Mumbai to Gandhinagar, and for Rs 369 when travelling from Gandhinagar to Mumbai.

The reservation and superfast charges for both routes stand at Rs 60 and Rs 75, respectively. The total GST on travel via this train is Rs 108.

Travel from Mumbai to Gandhinagar is priced at Rs 1,255 for chair class, and Rs 2,435 for executive class, on MakeMyTrip, one of India’s leading travel websites. The tickets cost Rs 1,320 and Rs 2,415 for travel from Gandhinagar to Mumbai, in its chair and executive coaches respectively, on MMT.

What’s ‘Next-Gen’ about it:

The semi-high speed train is equipped with an anti-collision system of KAVACH, Indian Railways’ own Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, CCTV cameras, and automatic entry and exit gates. The disaster lights in coaches come with a battery backup of three hours.

India’s high-speed train ‘Vande Bharat Express’ passes a railway bridge after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Ahmedabad, India, September 30, 2022. (Photo Credits: REUTERS/Amit Dave)

It offers passengers with a wi-fi enabled infotainment system, and an LCD screen of 32 inches, in each of its coaches. The air inside the train gets filtered through a photo catalytic ultraviolet purification system that deactivates 99 per cent of germs, the Railways claims.

It also provides Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC), and sliding footsteps in coaches, for better passenger experience.

Moreover, the Braille lettering on seat numbers and other textual components proves friendly for specially-abled passengers.

The train presently runs at a maximum speed of 130 kilometres per hour “because of the track structure,” said Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer (CPRO) at Western Railways. “Work is already underway for upgradation of the track, with a target to complete by March 2024,” he said.

When and where can you book a seat for your travel?

The Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express train is open to passengers for regular travel from October 1, 2022. You can now book a ticket by registering on the IRCTC portal and other online travel websites.