No Sleeper Vande Bharat Between Pune-Nagpur; Chair Car Service to Start This Month, Route and Timings Finalized
Reported by Amit Singh
Pune, 4th August 2025: The much-awaited Vande Bharat Express between Pune and Nagpur is set to commence operations this month. As per railway sources, the route and schedule for the new service have been finalized. The train will operate six days a week, with one day reserved for maintenance.
Route and Stoppages
The Vande Bharat Express will run between Pune and Ajni (Nagpur) with the following stoppages:
Ajni, Wardha, Badnera, Akola, Bhusaval, Jalgaon, Manmad, Kopargaon, Ahmednagar, Daund Chord Cabin (DDCC), and Pune.
Tentative Timings
• From Pune to Ajni
Departure: 06:20 hrs
Arrival: 18:20 hrs
• From Ajni to Pune
Departure: 09:20 hrs
Arrival: 21:30 hrs
This new train is expected to reduce travel time between Pune and Nagpur by 1 to 1.5 hours compared to existing services.
Review Meeting Held
A high-level video conference was held on Monday to discuss preparedness for the new Vande Bharat service. The meeting was chaired by the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw. Senior officials and technical teams from relevant railway zones attended the meeting to review operational readiness.
Additional Vande Bharat Services Reviewed
Preparations for two additional Vande Bharat Express trains were also discussed:
1. Belagavi – Bengaluru City (SBC)
Route: Belagavi, Dharwad, Hubballi (UBL), Haveri (HVR), Davangere (DVG), Tumakuru (TK), Yeshwantpur (YPR), Bengaluru City (SBC)
2. Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) – Amritsar Junction (ASR)
Route: SVDK, Jammu Tawi (JAT), Pathankot (PTK), Jalandhar City (JUC), Beas (BEAS), Amritsar Junction (ASR)
Currently, Pune hosts three operational Vande Bharat trains Pune–Solapur, Pune–Kolhapur, and Pune–Hubli.
The newly announced Pune–Ajni Vande Bharat will be a non-sleeper chair car version, similar to other short-distance high-speed services in the Vande Bharat fleet.
