Four New Vande Bharat Trains Flag Off From Varanasi As Fleet Crosses 160 Services

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off four new Vande Bharat Express trains from the Banaras railway station in Varanasi on Saturday, 8 November, taking India's semi-high-speed rail network past 160 services and bringing faster, modern train travel to four more corridors across the country.

The Prime Minister, who was in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, said infrastructure has played a great role in the development of nations. He described Vande Bharat trains as a matter of pride for every Indian, adding that next-generation services such as Vande Bharat, Namo Bharat and Amrit Bharat are laying the foundation for the future of Indian Railways.

The Four New Routes

The four new services will run on the Banaras–Khajuraho, Lucknow–Saharanpur, Firozpur–Delhi and Ernakulam–Bengaluru routes, linking religious towns, state capitals, a border district and one of India's biggest technology hubs in a single day's announcements.

The Banaras–Khajuraho service is the standout. It establishes direct connectivity on a route that connects some of India's most revered religious and cultural destinations — Varanasi, Prayagraj and Chitrakoot — with the UNESCO-listed temples of Khajuraho. Officials said it will save passengers about two hours and forty minutes compared with the special trains currently running on the route.

The Lucknow–Saharanpur service strengthens travel within Uttar Pradesh, the Firozpur–Delhi service links Punjab's border region directly with the national capital, and the Ernakulam–Bengaluru service connects Kerala with Karnataka's technology capital.

A Network That Has Crossed 160

Indian Railways now operates 164 Vande Bharat Express services across the country, according to Railway Board executive director Dilip Kumar. The network had 156 services before Saturday, and the four new trains add eight services, with each train running in both directions.

The scale of the expansion is striking. The first Vande Bharat Express began running in 2019, and in about seven years the indigenously built train has grown from a single service into a network that reaches almost every part of the country. More than 160 trains are now in operation, and the government has said the network will keep growing.

Why Vande Bharat Matters For Passengers

For passengers, the appeal of Vande Bharat is straightforward: shorter journeys, modern air-conditioned chair-car coaches, faster acceleration and braking, and onboard facilities such as Wi-Fi and infotainment. On routes where the track permits, the trains run considerably faster than the conventional expresses they replace.

For the towns on the new routes, the benefits go beyond comfort. Faster trains mean day trips become possible where an overnight stay was once needed. Pilgrims can cover the Varanasi–Prayagraj–Chitrakoot–Khajuraho circuit more easily, traders and students can travel between Lucknow and Saharanpur and return the same day, and business travellers gain a quicker link between Kerala and Bengaluru.

What Comes Next

Railway officials say the Vande Bharat network will continue to expand, with more routes being added as new train sets roll out of Indian factories. The focus, they say, is on connecting cities that still depend on slow overnight trains, and on corridors where demand for fast daytime travel is high.

For now, passengers on the four new routes can look forward to shorter journeys and a more comfortable ride. The flag-off from Varanasi marks another step in Indian Railways' shift from a network built around overnight sleeper trains to one where fast, modern daytime services are becoming the norm.

Which of the four new Vande Bharat routes would you like to travel on first — the temple towns of Banaras–Khajuraho, or the Kerala–Bengaluru tech corridor? Tell us in the comments below.