**Executive Summary**
This report, published by the Ministry of Railways on February 11, 2026, details the Vande Bharat Express services operating in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It lists the routes, train numbers, and frequency of services in each state. The report also highlights efforts to upgrade railway infrastructure and ensure affordable fares. One key date mentioned is November 11, 2025, the effective date of the Khajuraho-Banaras Vande Bharat Express introduction.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Vande Bharat Services in Maharashtra:**
* Lists 12 Vande Bharat Express trains serving Maharashtra, including train numbers and frequencies (all trains run 3 or 6 days a week).
* Examples include Pune-Ajni, Nagpur-Secunderabad, Hubballi-Pune, SCSM(T) Kolhapur-Pune, Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad, etc.
* **Vande Bharat Services in Madhya Pradesh:**
* Lists 5 Vande Bharat Express trains serving Madhya Pradesh, including train numbers and frequencies (all trains run 6 days a week).
* Examples include Rani Kamlapati-Hazrat Nizamuddin, Rani Kamlapati-Rewa, Indore-Nagpur, etc.
* Includes the Khajuraho-Banaras Vande Bharat Express that began operating on November 11, 2025.
* **Vande Bharat Service Enhancements:**
* The services connect major destinations and cater to the needs of pilgrims and tourists.
* Introduction of new trains depends on factors like section capacity, path availability, rolling stock, infrastructure, and maintenance requirements.
* **Track Infrastructure Upgrades:**
* Ongoing improvements include using stronger rails, heavier sleepers, advanced welding, and mechanized maintenance systems.
* Details specific track upgrades to improve safety and speed.
* **Track Speed Potential:**
* Indicates improved speed potential on railway tracks from 2014 to 2025.
* Provides a table showing the increase in track kilometers that can support different speed ranges.
* **Affordable Fares:**
* Railways offer various train types with different fare structures to cater to all segments of society.
* Indian Railways subsidizes passenger tickets, providing a concession of about 45% on average.
* **Local Cuisine Options:**
* IRCTC designs menus based on regional demand, offering local cuisines of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
* Lists several regional dishes available on Vande Bharat trains in these states.
**Impact Analysis**
**Passengers/General Public**
* **Impact**: Greater connectivity to major destinations, catering to the needs of pilgrims and tourists.
* **Action Required**: Be aware of new train routes and schedules.
**Indian Railways/Ministry of Railways**
* **Impact**: Requires ongoing investments in track infrastructure upgrades and maintenance.
* **Action Required**: Continue modernizing railway tracks and monitoring the performance of the new Vande Bharat services.
**IRCTC**
* **Impact**: Required to design and provide menus based on regional demand.
* **Action Required**: Provide local cuisine options on Vande Bharat trains.
Key Entities Referenced
Vande Bharat Trains: A scheme to introduce Vande Bharat Express train services.
Maharashtra: One of the states where Vande Bharat train services are operating as per the document.
Madhya Pradesh: One of the states where Vande Bharat train services are operating as per the document.
Ministry of Railways: The governing body responsible for the Vande Bharat train services.
Ministry of Railways
VANDE BHARAT TRAINS IN MAHARASHTRA
AND MADHYA PRADESH
Posted On: 11 FEB 2026 6:52PM by PIB Mumbai
Mumbai, 11 February 2026
As the railway network straddles across State boundaries, trains are introduced across such
boundaries as per network requirement. On originating/terminating basis, 24 Vande Bharat
Express services are catering to the needs of various stations located in the State of Maharashtra
while 10 Vande Bharat Express services (including 26505/26506 Khajuraho-Banaras Vande Bharat
Express introduced w.e.f. 11.11.2025), are catering to the needs of various stations located in the
State of Madhya Pradesh. These are listed below:
Vande Bharat serving Maharashtra:
SN Train no. and name Frequency
1 26101/26102 Pune-Ajni Vande Bharat Express 6 Days a week
2 20101/20102 Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express 6 Days a week
3 20669/20670 Hubballi-Pune Vande Bharat Express 3 Days a week
4 20673/20674 SCSM(T) Kolhapur-Pune Vande Bharat Express 3 Days a week
5 22961/22962 Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat 6 Days a week
Express
6 20705/20706 H. S. Nanded-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T) 6 Days a week
Vande Bharat Express
7 22229/22230 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Madgaon Vande 6 Days a week
Bharat Express
8 20911/20912 Indore-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express 6 Days a week
9 22223/22224 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Sainagar Shirdi 6 Days a week
Vande Bharat Express
10 22225/22226 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Solapur Vande 6 Days a week
Bharat Express11 20825/20826 Bilaspur-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express 6 Days a week
12 20901/20902 Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Capital Vande 6 Days a week
Bharat Express
Vande Bharat serving Madhya Pradesh:
SN Train no. and name Frequency
1 20171/20172 Rani Kamlapati-Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat 6 Days a week
Express
2 20173/20174 Rani Kamlapati-Rewa Vande Bharat Express 6 Days a week
3 20911/20912 Indore-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express 6 Days a week
4 22469/22470 Khajuraho-Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat 6 Days a week
Express
5 26505/26506 Khajuraho-Banaras Vande Bharat Express 6 Days a week
(introduced w.e.f. 11.11.2025)
These Vande Bharat services, inter alia, are providing connectivity to major destinations like
Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Shirdi, Nashik, Ratnagiri, Solapur, Secunderabad, Prayagraj, Banaras,
Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore, Jabalpur, Khajuraho, Maihar, Rewa, etc. and are thereby catering to the
needs of Pilgrims and Tourists as well.
Besides, introduction of new trains including Vande Bharat train services on any route/section
depends on various factors which include:
• Capacity of that section
• Availability of path
• Availability of required rolling stock
• Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock
• Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets
Track infrastructure
Strengthening, upgradation, modernisation and improvement of track infrastructure is a
continuous and ongoing process over Indian Railways. The following measures are being
taken by Indian Railways to upgrade railway tracks:
Modern track structure consisting of 60kg, 90 Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Wider and
heavier Pre-stressed Concrete Sleepers (PSC) with elastic fastening, fan-shaped layout turnout
on PSC sleepers and H-beam Sleepers on girder bridges are being used while carrying out
primary track renewals.
I. The Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossings are being used in turnout
renewal works.II. Supply of 260m long rail panels have been increased to avoid welding of joints,
thereby improving safety.
III. Thick Web Switch Expansion Joints are being used in place of earlier
Conventional/Improved SEJs.
IV. Adoption of better welding technology for rails i.e. Flash Butt Welding.
V. Adoption of mechanized system for track maintenance using high output plain
tampers and points & crossing tampers for improved maintainability &
reliability of track.
VI. Deployment of state-of-the-art modern machines including Rail Grinding
Machines to further improve asset reliability.
VII. Mechanisation of track laying activities through use of track machines like
PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc.
VIII. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates for enhancing safety at LC gates.
IX. Use of advanced Phased Array technology of testing of rail and welds.
X. Deployment of Integrated Track Monitoring Systems (ITMS) and Oscillation
Monitoring System (OMS) for comprehensive health assessment to ascertain
optimal maintenance requirements.
XI. Adoption of portable Track Measuring Trolley for continuous recording of track
parameters in yards.
Using web enabled Track Management System (TMS) for integration and data analytics of the
track inspection records received through various sources to enable precise maintenance inputs.
As a result of the above measures, there has been a significant increase in speed potential of
the tracks. The details of speed potential of railway tracks during 2014 vis-a-vis 2025 are as
under:
Sectional Speed 2014 2025 (up to Dec’25)
(kmph)
Track Km % Track Km %
130 & above 5,036 6.3 23,010 21.8
110 - 130 26,409 33.3 61,234 57.9
< 110 47,897 60.4 21,428 20.3
Total 79,342 100 1,05,672 100
Affordable Fares
Railways are running different types of train services like suburban locals/ordinary, non-suburban
local/ordinary, Mail/Express, Superfast trains, Garib Rath, Gatimaan, Rajdhani, Shatabdi,
Duronto, Mahamana, Amrit Bharat, Vande Bharat, Vande Bharat Sleeper, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail,
Humsafar, Tejas, Special trains on special charges etc.
Railways always strive to provide affordable services to all strata of society. Accordingly, it
operates different categories of train services to cater to the travel needs of various categories of
society which include trains with lower fare to give benefit to underprivileged sections of the
society and also trains with enhanced facilities.
Indian Railways gave subsidies of ₹ 60,466 crore on passenger tickets in 2023-24. This amounts
to a concession of 45% on an average, to every person travelling on Railways. In other words, if
the cost of providing service is ₹ 100, then the price of the ticket is ₹ 55 only. This subsidy iscontinuing for all passengers. Further, concessions beyond this subsidy amount are continuing for
many categories like 4 categories of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans), 11 categories of
patients and 8 categories of students.
Local cuisine options
The menu of prestigious Vande Bharat trains are being designed by Indian Railway Catering and
Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), on the basis of regional/popular demand by the travelling
passengers. IRCTC has introduced Regional/local cuisines of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in
the Vande Bharat trains operating in the states, towards offering a more personalized experience.
Some of the Regional/local dishes introduced are Paneer Kolhapuri, Murg Kolhapuri, Kobhichi Bha,
Batata Muttor Bhaji, Batata Poha, Kanda Poha, Indori Poha, Sev tamatar sabji, Ajwain paratha,
Ragi Bhakhri, Patra Bhagar, Khoya Chicken, Ragi Thepla, Bhey (Spicy Lotus stems), etc.
Introduction of these Regional/local dishes have given passengers the opportunity to enjoy
authentic local flavors and connect with the local culture.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and
Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply to a question in
Lok Sabha today.
* * *
PIB Mumbai | Yash Rane/Darshana Rane
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