Train to run between Saharsa, Bihar and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Kurla; the train will operate via Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, Danapur, Buxar and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (formerly Mughalsarai) stations
The Amrit Bharat train has locomotives at either end, enabling it to move in two directions
Mumbai is getting its first Amrit Bharat Express train on Thursday. To be operated between Saharsa, Bihar and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Kurla, it will be the country’s third Amrit Bharat train after the Darbhanga-Anand Vihar and Malda Town-SMVT Bengaluru (Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal). The train will operate via Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, Danapur, Buxar and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (formerly Mughalsarai) stations.
mid-day had first reported about the arrival of the much-awaited unreserved ‘Janata Vande Bharat train’ for the general public in Mumbai on February 22 for extensive trials on the ghat sections of Igatpuri and Pune. The Amrit Bharat Express—a push-pull trainset with locomotives on either side—is a class of superfast, non-air-conditioned, low-cost, sleeper-cum unreserved services connecting cities that are more than 800 km apart.
The interiors of an Amrit Bharat train; 50 such trains are being built at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai
It has a maximum operating speed of 110 to 130 kmph. “The trainset provides improved facilities for better-designed seats and luggage racks for increasing volume, mobile charging points with mobile holders, LED lights, CCTV, a public information system and is a vestibule train. With two locomotives attached on either side, the train cuts down the time of reversal as it can move in either direction. The trainsets are manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. Production of 200 more such trains is in progress, with 50 under construction and 150 more planned,” an official said.
“I'm not surprised by the chosen destination—it’s no wonder that the first Amrit Bharat Express from Mumbai is heading there. However, the Railways should have prioritised replacing trains with multiple locomotive reversals by deploying Amrit Bharat Express trains in push-pull configuration. For instance, trains like the 11403/11404 Kolhapur-Nagpur Express face as many as four loco reversals—at Miraj, Latur Road, Parli Vaijnath and Akola—while the 11405/11406 Pune-Amravati Express (via Latur) has three—at Parli Vaijnath, Latur Road and Akola.
All of these reversals could be eliminated with a push-pull setup, resulting in a significant reduction in journey time, potentially by a couple of hours. Western Railway, on the other hand, has often rejected proposals for trains towards the interiors of Maharashtra—including Konkan, Western Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Marathwada—and even Southern India, citing the loco reversal at Vasai Road as a constraint.
Ironically, these are precisely the routes where Amrit Bharat Express could have been most effective from the outset. CR is concerned about the Ratnagiri-Dadar train clashing with 12 suburban services, which will overlap the path with suburban trains only between Vidyavihar and Matunga. This Saharsa-LTT will clash all the way from Kasara to Kalyan. It will also clash between Kalyan and Thane if CR chooses to operate this from the 3rd and 4th line [which is a common practice these days],” commuter activist Akshay Mahapadi said.
A regular commuter, Piyush Sangapurkar, who is a resident of Pune and a Solapur native, said, “Passengers demand an increase in frequency of Kolhapur-Nagpur Express via Latur daily with replacement of ICF rake with an Amrit Bharat rake as it would save four loco reversals which would save two hours. It's currently running with more than 200 per cent occupancy. It connects Pandharpur with Nagpur, directly.”
Another regular commuter, Sriram Iyer, said, “It’s really nice to see new variants of trains connect Mumbai to potential areas like Gorakpur, Varanasi, Patna, Saharsa etc, but Indian Railways should also focus on connecting Mumbai to Southern metros of Chennai and Bengaluru. Both these cities are yet to be connected with a premium service. The fastest train still takes around 22 hours for about 1300 km between Mumbai and Chennai and 1200 km between Mumbai and Bengaluru, with a running average of merely 56 kmph. The entire section is fully electrified and doubled with 130 MPS throughout, yet the trains have been allotted a running TT dating decades back. It’s high time Indian Railways concentrates on strengthening services between Mumbai-Chennai/Bengaluru with high-speed Vande Sleeper/Amrit Bharat type trains.”
“The recently introduced route for the Amrit Bharat Express is quite underwhelming. Instead of selecting a corridor that truly demands speed and operational efficiency, the Railways chose a politically convenient and already well-served route. This was a missed opportunity to address long-pending issues on routes severely impacted by multiple locomotive reversals and sluggish travel times, particularly those running through Marathwada, Vidarbha and Konkan (via Western Railway). Deploying Amrit Bharat Express on these corridors, with a push-pull configuration, could have delivered tangible improvements in journey time and passenger convenience. Moreover, this train will now occupy a valuable maintenance slot in Mumbai—a slot that could have been far better utilised for a Maharashtra-centric service. It’s ironic that while the Railways claim constraints in terminal capacity, they have yet to restore essential trains such as Bhusaval-Mumbai Passenger, Kolhapur-Mumbai Sahyadri Express, Ratnagiri-Dadar Passenger, Pune-Panvel Passenger, Bhusaval-Pune Express (via Panvel-Karjat). Clearly, paths, slots, route and terminal capacities do exist, but they’re being allocated elsewhere, rather than being used to serve core intra-state routes in Maharashtra that are still awaiting restoration.
Commuter Speak
Akshay Mahapadi, Commuter activist
‘The Railways should have prioritised replacing trains with multiple locomotive reversals by deploying Amrit Bharat Express trains in push-pull configuration. For instance, trains like the 11403/11404 Kolhapur-Nagpur Express face as many as four loco reversals—at Miraj, Latur Road, Parli Vaijnath and Akola—while the 11405/11406 Pune-Amravati Express (via Latur) has three—at Parli Vaijnath, Latur Road and Akola’
Piyush Sangapurkar, Railway commuter
‘Passengers demand an increase in frequency of Kolhapur-Nagpur Express via Latur daily with replacement of ICF rake with an Amrit Bharat rake as it would save four loco reversals which would save two hours. It’s currently running with more than 200 per cent occupancy’
Sriram Iyer, Railway commuter
‘It’s really nice to see new variants of trains connect Mumbai to potential areas like Gorakpur, Varanasi , Patna, Saharsa etc, but Indian Railways should also focus on connecting Mumbai to Southern metros of Chennai and Bengaluru. Both these cities are yet to be connected with a premium service’
Prathamesh Prabhu, Activist
‘The recently introduced route is underwhelming. Instead of selecting a corridor that truly demands speed and operational efficiency, the Railways chose a politically convenient, well-served route. This was a missed opportunity to address long-pending issues on routes severely impacted by locomotive reversals and sluggish travel times, particularly those running through Marathwada, Vidarbha and Konkan’
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