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4 clusters · 6 sources · 26 days · First seen · Last updated

Indian Railways service and capacity expansion

Overview

Indian Railways has initiated several expansions to its service and capacity. In the Jammu Division, the Ministry of Railways announced the introduction of four new train pairs for the 2025–26 fiscal year, including two Vande Bharat Express services. Additionally, the agency approved seven new Amrit Bharat Express trains to improve northern connectivity and implemented temporary coach augmentations for August 2026 to manage passenger surges.

Building on these efforts, the Vande Bharat network saw ridership grow by 34% in FY26, reaching approximately 3.98 crore passengers. While many passenger classes reported losses in FY25, the AC 3-tier and AC Chair Car segments remained profitable, with AC 3-tier specifically generating Rs 3,645.44 crore in profit. To capitalize on this, the agency is expanding into long-distance overnight travel. Following the January 2026 launch of Vande Bharat sleeper services—which reported occupancy rates “exceeding 100%” in their first three months—the railway is preparing larger 24-coach sleeper trains. These sets, capable of carrying approximately 1,224 passengers, are expected to be manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, with a target of 50 trainsets.

Capacity increases have also been applied to specific routes, such as the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, which was upgraded from eight to 16 coaches to double seating capacity from 530 to 1,128 passengers for the Onam travel season. Meanwhile, officials are reviewing the allocation of de-reserved coaches across Kerala to better align availability with rising unreserved and season-ticket travel demands.

Entities

Indian Railways · Kerala · Suresh Gopi · Ernakulam Junction · Vande Bharat Express

Timeline

  1. about 11 hours ago

    [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Indian Railways expands Vande Bharat capacity and reviews coach allocations

    The Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express capacity has doubled to 1,128 seats, while Indian Railways reviews de-reserved coach allocations in Kerala to meet rising passenger demand.

  2. 1 day ago

    [BUSINESS] 3 sources
    Indian Railways expands Vande Bharat network with new sleeper trains

    Indian Railways is expanding its Vande Bharat network with new 24-coach sleeper trains to meet surging demand for premium rail travel, following significant ridership growth and profitability in AC segments.

  3. 4 days ago

    [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Indian Railways expands service with new trains and extra coaches

    Indian Railways is expanding its network with seven new Amrit Bharat Express trains and temporarily adding coaches to several express routes to manage passenger surges.

  4. 26 days ago

    [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Indian Railways launches four new Vande Bharat services in Jammu Division

    Indian Railways added four new train pairs, including two Vande Bharat Expresses, to the Jammu Division, raising total services to 114 at Jammu Tawi and 46 at Katra, pending capacity checks.

Sources

businesstoday.in · dnaindia.com · english.mathrubhumi.com · migraciokutato.hu · pragativadi.com · thecsrjournal.in

This summary has been updated 2 times: see revision history