Overview
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated services linking Banaras–Khajuraho, Lucknow–Saharanpur, Firozpur–Delhi, and Ernakulam–Bengaluru, with officials noting India now runs more than 160 Vande Bharat trains.
- Railways published faster end-to-end times—Firozpur–Delhi in 6 hours 40 minutes, Ernakulam–Bengaluru in 8 hours 40 minutes, Lucknow–Saharanpur in about 7 hours 45 minutes, and Banaras–Khajuraho saving roughly 2 hours 40 minutes—while commercial listings and fares are being finalized.
- The Firozpur–Delhi service is designated 22462/22461, operates six days a week except Wednesday, halts at Faridkot, Bathinda, Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala Cantt, Kurukshetra, and Panipat, and has primary maintenance at Firozpur Cantt.
- Banaras–Khajuraho runs as 26506/26505 six days a week except Thursday, with 26506 departing Banaras at 5:10 a.m. to reach Khajuraho at 1:10 p.m. and the return leaving at 3:20 p.m. to arrive 11:15 p.m., stopping at Varanasi Jn, Vindhyachal, Prayagraj Chheoki, Chitrakutdham Karwi, Banda, and Mahoba.
- Southern Railway completed trials for the Ernakulam–Bengaluru link and operated inaugural special 06652 on November 8 (08:00–17:50), with commercial runs planned as 26651/26652 and stops including Thrissur, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, and Krishnarajapuram.