In view of growing demand for faster and more comfortable rail travel between Howrah and Puri, Indian Railways has announced 25 per cent augmentation of 22895/22896 Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express with additional coaches, the East Coast Railway informed on Friday.

Starting Friday, the train will operate with 20 coaches, in place of earlier 16, adding four additional AC Chair Car Coaches, it said.

Advertisement

This augmentation includes the addition of four AC Chair Car Coaches, aimed at accommodating the growing number of passengers traveling on this prestigious semi-high-speed train service. The upgraded rake composition will now consist of 16 AC Chair Car Coaches, 2 Executive Chair Car Coaches and 2 Crew & AC Chair Car Coaches.

The Puri–Howrah Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train that connects Howrah Junction in West Bengal to Puri in Odisha, covering a distance of 500 km in approximately 6.5 hours. The train operates six days a week, except Thursdays, with departures from Howrah at 6:10 am and from Puri at 1:50 pm. This train provides stoppages at seven stations: Khurda Road Junction, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, Balasore, and Kharagpur Junction.

The decision to augment the train was made after a thorough review of passenger patronization and travel demand, highlighting the Puri–Howrah Vande Bharat Express as one of the most sought-after routes for both daily commuters and tourists. The enhanced capacity is expected to improve travel convenience, reduce waitlists and further popularize this premium train service.

Patronization of the train has seen a significant increase since its inception. Initially operating with an occupancy rate of 70–80 per cent, the train has now reached an impressive patronisation level of over 110 per cent.

Currently, Train No. 22895 (Howrah–Puri) records 110.9 per cent occupancy, while Train No. 22896 (Puri–Howrah) sees 109.2 per cent. Specifically, patronage in AC Chair Car classes stands at 110.65 and 103.19 per cent in Executive Chair Car coaches.