Railways to upgrade Vande Bharat trains with more coaches on 7 routes amid rising demand
New Delhi (PTI): The Railway Board has decided to upgrade Vande Bharat trains with more coaches on seven operational routes after considering the high occupancy of passengers, according to officials.
These seven routes are Mangaluru Central-Thiruvananthapuram Central, Secunderabad–Tirupati, Chennai Egmore–Tirunelveli, Madurai–Bengaluru Cantt, Deoghar–Varanasi, Howrah– Rourkela and Indore–Nagpur.
The released trains will also be introduced on some other new routes.
The officials said that at present four 8 coaches (also called cars) and three 16 coaches Vande Bharat trains are operational on these routes.
“The 16-car train will be upgraded to 20-car and those having 8-car will be increased to 16-car,” Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, said.
“On the basis of occupancy for Financial Year 2025-26 (up to 31.07.2025) and feasibility for augmentation, a tentative augmentation of three 16-car Vande Bharat train services with 20-car and four 8-Car Vande Bharat train with 16-car has been planned,” he added.
The Board officials said that besides these upgrades, more 20-car Vande Bharat trains will be ready for launches and one 16-car train will be available for augmentation.
“A tentative replacement plan of Vande Bharat train service is planned on the basis of occupancy. After this, the released rakes (trains) of 16-Car and 8-Car will be utilized for running new services,” Kumar said.
As per scheduled upgradation, three routes -- Mangaluru Central–Thiruvananthapuram Central, Secunderabad–Tirupati, Chennai Egmore–Tirunelveli -- which have at present 16-car Vande Bharat will be upgraded to 20-car and the remaining four routes having 8-car Vande Bharat service will get 16-car trains.
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Flagrant injustice to underprivileged: Mehbooba on govt action against Shopian school
Srinagar (PTI): PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian an unlawful entity under the UAPA was a "flagrant injustice" to the underprivileged sections of society.
She also alleged that banning such "altruistic institutions" without any solid evidence of anti-national activity "shows a deep seated prejudice and ill intention".
The institution allegedly run by individuals affiliated with a banned organisation has been declared an "unlawful entity" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a post on X, Mehbooba said, "Every single day the j&k government acts as a mute bystander & a timid enabler of vicious assaults on J&Ks identity & dignity. Declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom as an unlawful entity under UAPA is a flagrant injustice to the poor underprivileged sections of society".
The former chief minister said the institution served as a "beacon of quality education" for students unable to afford expensive schooling.
"It has produced reputed doctors and professionals who served this nation with dedication. Banning these altruistic institutions without any solid evidence of anti national activity shows a deep seated prejudice & ill intention," she added.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg issued a two-page order based on the dossier presented by Senior Superintendent of Police Shopian pointing towards the alleged illegal activities at Darul Uloom Jamia Sirajul Uloom at Imam Sahib in Shopian district in south Kashmir.
According to the order issued by Garg on April 24, there were "credible inputs and evidence on record, to indicate sustained and covert linkages of the institution with Jamaat-e-Islami, which the Government of India banned in 2019.
