THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The maiden voyage of the new Vande Bharat with 20 coaches, which replaced the old Vande Bharat with 16 coaches, is a huge hit. The first service departed from Thiruvananthapuram at 5.15 am yesterday with all 1,440 seats filled with passengers. Getting 100 percent booking on the first day itself is giving great hope to the railways.

312 more seats are available now with the addition of four additional coaches. Kerala has been allocated the Orange coloured rake. This also solved the complaint of lack of seats. The train left Thiruvananthapuram at 5.15 am on Friday and reached Kasaragod around 1.20 pm. The information is that the ticket booking for the coming days has also been completed. Vande Bharat trains with 20 coaches were used for the first time on the New Delhi-Varanasi and Nagpur-Secunderabad routes. Apart from Kerala, these trains were also sanctioned for Tirunelveli-Chennai Egmore Express.

More seating capacity

The 20-coach Vande Bharat has 15 percent more seating capacity than other Vande Bharat Expresses. The system is specially designed for the visually impaired and has state-of-the-art facilities. Advanced shock absorbers, suspension systems, space for wheelchairs in each coach, cushioned seats, Braille embossed seat numbers etc. are present.