Delhi-Patna Vande Bharat special costs more and takes longer than Tejas Rajdhani
The festive Vande Bharat special between Delhi and Patna takes about two hours longer than the Tejas Rajdhani, and the chair car fare is higher too.
Fancy a semi-high-speed train home for the festivals? Here's a surprise: the Delhi-Patna Vande Bharat special is both slower and pricier than the Tejas Rajdhani Express.
What's the difference?
Indian Railways is running a Vande Bharat Express (chair car) festival special on the Delhi-Patna route to handle the seasonal rush. The New Delhi-Patna train (02252) takes 13 hours 30 minutes for the 995-km trip, with six stops: Aligarh, Kanpur Central, Prayagraj Junction, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Buxar and Ara.
The Tejas Rajdhani covers the same distance in around 11 hours 28 minutes. That's roughly two hours faster.
On price, the Vande Bharat special charges Rs 2,615 for AC Chair Car and Rs 4,695 for Executive Chair Car. On November 14, the Tejas Rajdhani costs Rs 2,545 in Third AC, Rs 3,475 in Second AC and Rs 4,260 in First AC.
Why the price gap?
The Ministry of Railways does not use dynamic or flexi-fare pricing (fares that rise with demand) for Vande Bharat trains. The Tejas Rajdhani does. Dynamic pricing is meant to let people book at short notice by paying more when demand is heavy.
Other options on the route are cheaper. The Sampooran Kranti Express (12394) takes 13 hours 8 minutes and charges Rs 1,290 for Third AC Economy, Rs 1,390 for Third AC, Rs 1,955 for Second AC and Rs 3,270 for First AC. Sleeper class is Rs 540.
Other premium trains are quicker than the Vande Bharat special too. The New Delhi-Howrah Duronto Express (12274) takes 12 hours 8 minutes, and the Dibrugarh Rajdhani (12424) takes 11 hours 40 minutes.
Vande Bharat chair car services are mainly designed for intercity trips of up to 700 km. On this route, the service was first introduced during the Bihar Assembly elections but was discontinued soon afterwards.
What's next?
Demand is clearly strong: both the Vande Bharat special and the Tejas Rajdhani are fully booked for the next few weeks.
On Monday, Northern Railway announced two more Vande Bharat specials. Train 02258 (New Delhi-Patna) runs on November 11, and its return, 02257 (Patna-New Delhi), departs on November 12. Train 02436 (New Delhi-Patna) runs on November 13, with the return 02435 (Patna-New Delhi) on November 14. Bookings are open online and offline.
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