Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the Vijayawada-Chennai Vande Bharat train along with eight other trains. The Hyderabad-Yesvantapur train was also launched on Sunday.
According to railway officials, the Vijayawada-Chennai Vande Bharat train will take approximately 6 hours and 40 minutes to cover the distance. The train departs from Vijayawada at 3.20 pm and arrives in Chennai at 10 pm. It stops at Tenali, Ongole, Nellore, and Renigunta. The train reaches Tenali at 3.49 pm, Ongole at 5.03 pm, Nellore at 6.19 pm, and Renigunta at 8.05 pm.
For the return journey, the train departs from Chennai at 5.30 am and reaches Vijayawada at 12.10 pm. It stops at Renigunta at 7.05 am, Nellore at 8.39 am, Ongole at 10.09 am, and Tenali at 11.21 am.
The fare for a chair car ticket from Vijayawada to Chennai is Rs. 1420, while the executive class fare is Rs. 2690. The ticket prices for the return journey are slightly lower. From Chennai Central to Vijayawada, the AC chair car price is Rs. 1320, and the executive class price is Rs. 2540.
These prices are reduced if catering charges are not included. The chair car ticket price from Vijayawada to Renigunta is Rs. 1175, while the executive chair car price is Rs. 2110. For the return journey, the prices are Rs. 1075 and Rs. 2020, respectively.
The Vandebharat train between Vijayawada and Chennai was initially scheduled to start two months ago but was canceled due to technical issues. With the introduction of this train, the residents of Vijayawada now have access to two Vande Bharat services, the other one being the Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam route.