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Indian Railways service and capacity expansion

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2026-08-17 09:01 UTC → 2026-08-17 15:04 UTC · added removed

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, which includes including two Vande Bharat Express services connecting routes such as Amritsar–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Jammu Tawi–Srinagar. services. Additionally, the agency has approved seven new Amrit Bharat Express trains to improve long-distance connectivity in northern regions. To manage surges in passenger volume, the railway is also implementing a temporary augmentation of coaches, adding Sleeper Class connectivity and 3rd AC coaches to several express routes between implemented temporary coach augmentations for August 15 and 21, 2026. 2026 to manage passenger surges. Building on these capacity 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 demand, this, the railway 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 agency railway is preparing larger 24-coach sleeper trains. These new sets, capable of carrying approximately 1,224 passengers across various AC classes, 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.

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  1. 2026-08-17 15:04 UTC Indian Railways service and capacity expansion
  2. 2026-08-17 09:01 UTC Indian Railways service and capacity expansion
  3. 2026-08-14 14:15 UTC Indian Railways service and capacity expansion

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