Bhubaneswar, Oct 21: Indian Railways’ Vande Bharat train has become the choicest travel option. This was informed by the East Coast Railway (ECoR).
According to a data of passengers travelling in Vande Bharat in East Coast region, on average 47.6% of total passengers belong to this age group of youngsters and working class in the age bracket 25-50 years, prefer Vande Bharat express above others mode of transportation. This age group has become the highest among all age group passengers who travel in Vande Bharat between Puri-Howrah and Puri-Rourkela.
The women passengers in the East Coast region have also shown their likeness for Vande Bharat Express for its comfort, speed, safety and security. According to the data, nearly 40% of the total passengers are female.
As per the industry estimate, with the launch of Vande Bharat on Chennai- Bengaluru, Thiruvananathapuram-Kasargod, Mumbai-Pune, Jamnagar- Ahmedabad and Delhi-Jaipur routes over the past few months, airfares on these sector have fallen by 20-30% from the level in April.
The launch of Vande Bharat on these routes has significantly impacted 10-20 percent of customer base of airlines. The impact has resulted in significant drop in airfares on these routes as compared to airfares before the introduction of Vande Bharat express on these sectors.
Also, people prefer Vande Bharat than travelling by their own vehicle. For example, Vande Bharat train from Puri to Rourkela takes 07 hours 45 minutes whereas Tapaswini Express (fastest in the route) takes 10 hours 45 minutes and road journey takes about 12 hours.
“ Vande Bharat is the most sought after train across India today. The craze of Vande Bharat amongst the people can be tracked on social media with people uploading their selfies and making videos with this new train of Indian Railways,” said an official.
