Mumbai: Starting April 28, 2026, the Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express will permanently operate with a full 20-coach formation, Indian Railways has announced. The decision aims to significantly boost seat availability on one of the country’s busiest inter-city corridors and reduce the number of waitlisted tickets for travellers.
The upgrade adds four coaches—three AC Chair Cars and one Executive Class—to the existing 16-coach rake. While the augmentation was initially introduced as a temporary measure during high-demand periods, sustained passenger traffic has prompted authorities to adopt it as a long-term arrangement.
The 491-km route between Mumbai and Ahmedabad serves a large volume of business travellers, students, tourists, and daily commuters. The Vande Bharat Express covers the distance in approximately five hours and thirty minutes, with halts at Borivali, Vapi, Surat, and Vadodara. With consistent high occupancy often exceeding 100 per cent, the expanded capacity is expected to ease booking pressure and improve the overall passenger experience.
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This permanent change underscores a structural rise in demand on the corridor rather than mere seasonal fluctuations. It reflects Indian Railways’ efforts to align services with evolving travel patterns that favour speed, reliability, and comfort.
The Vande Bharat series has seen strong growth in popularity. In the fiscal year 2025-26, these trains carried nearly 4 crore passengers, marking a 34 per cent increase over the previous year. Since their introduction in 2019, the fleet has transported more than 9.1 crore passengers across over 1 lakh trips.
Passengers are drawn to the trains’ modern features, including advanced safety systems, automated doors, ergonomic seating with individual mobile charging points, onboard catering, CCTV surveillance, and accessible facilities for differently-abled travellers. Improved punctuality and cleaner coaches have further strengthened their appeal on high-density routes such as Mumbai-Ahmedabad.
The permanent 20-coach configuration on this service highlights Indian Railways’ responsiveness to passenger needs. By enhancing capacity on a key commercial link, the move is expected to provide more confirmed berths and support the growing preference for efficient rail travel in India.
