By Kavita Mistry 
The Ministry of Railways has formally approved the Pune-Nagpur-Pune Vande Bharat Express.
The train’s operations are currently being planned by the Central Railway Board, and the service is anticipated to begin within the next month.
Pune-Nagpur Vande Bharat Express Gets Green Light from Railway Ministry
Through its engineering department and senior officials, the Ministry is currently performing technical evaluations and on-site route inspections.
In a high-level virtual meeting presided over by Railway Board Principal Secretary Satish Kumar, the train proposal was approved.
The Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat Express trains, as well as station renovation projects, were among the railway projects under the Central and Western Railway zones that were reviewed at this meeting.
Swapnil Neela, Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway, Mumbai, confirmed, “Discussion on launching the Pune-Nagpur-Pune Vande Bharat Express has been initiated by the ministry of railways. Following route surveys and technical evaluations by senior officials, the train schedule will soon be finalised.”
Heavy passenger traffic from western Maharashtra to the northeastern parts of the state is handled by the Central Railway zone.
The Pune–Akola–Amravati–Nagpur route sees thousands of passengers every day, and for more than two years, there has been a persistent demand for a Vande Bharat train on this route.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw responded by telling the Railway Board to move forward with the proposal and promising that the service would start soon.
Currently, Pune has connections to Solapur, Kolhapur, and Hubballi through the Vande Bharat Express.
Train Fare Increase Upto 300% Due To Vande Bharat Trains From Pune
There has been a notable increase in fares of Vande Bharat Express trains on routes like Pune-Belagavi, Pune-Mumbai, and Pune-Kolhapur routes indicates that the passengers are paying an average of 60% higher fare in exchange for time savings ranging from 1.5 to 2 hours.
For instance, the Vande Bharat (20670) completes the journey in 6 hours with a fare of ₹1,250 on the Pune-Belagavi route.
Goa Express (12780) and NZM Mys SF Express (12782) cover the same route in approximately 7 hours 40 minutes to 7 hours 50 minutes in contrast.
If we compare the fares for their Sleeper class, it is ₹290, while 3AC is ₹750 reflecting a hike of over 66% to 300% when compared with Vande Bharat, depending on the class chosen.
Considering the high-demand on Pune-Mumbai route, the Vande Bharat (22226) service covers the distance in 3 hours 15 minutes, charging ₹720.
If we compare this with the iconic Deccan Queen (12124), which takes 3 hours 10 minutes, with fares of ₹110 for 2S and ₹390 for Chair Car (CC).