Vande Bharat Express: Ticket Prices, Concession Rules, Other Details

Vande Bharat Express, a fully air conditioned train, runs on Delhi (NDLS)- Varanasi (BSB) route. It is considered to be country's first semi-high speed train. Also known as Train 18, it has a potential to travel up to the speed at 160 kilometres per hour as against 130 kmph of Shatabdi trains. The Vande Bharat Express covers the distance between Delhi and Varanasi in eight hours and runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to the official website of IRCTC - irctc.co.in.

Here are 10 things to know about Vande Bharat Express' tickets booking:

1. The Delhi-Varanasi journey by the train costs Rs 3,300 and Rs 1,755 for Executive Class (EC) and Chair Car (CC), respectively. On train's return journey, the fare for a journey from Varanasi to New Delhi for the CC booking class has been fixed at Rs 1,700 whereas that for the EC class will cost Rs 3,250, according to IRCTC.

2. The journey between Delhi and Kanpur by Vande Bharat Express (Train 18) has been fixed at Rs. 1,080 for CC and Rs 2,085 for EC, and those for a Delhi-Prayagraj journey at Rs 1,385 and Rs 2,725, respectively.

3. Tickets for a journey between Kanpur and Prayagraj costs Rs 595 for CC and Rs 1,170 for EC. A journey between Kanpur and Varanasi will cost Rs 1,030 for the CC class and Rs 1,845 for EC.

4. No other quota except General and Tatkal are available while booking a ticket in Vande Bharat Express.

5. No concessions on child fare are admissible in this train. Only full fare adult tickets are issued, according to IRCTC.

6. No senior citizen /Divyang/journalist concession ticket booking is allowed in this train. 

7. The passengers boarding from Allahabad (ALD) to Varanasi (BBB) and from Varanasi to Allahabad have the option to opt out of on-board catering services at the time of booking. 

8. The fare, for those passengers who do not opt for catering services between ALD to BSB station (up/down directions) in advance at the time of booking, are not included the respective catering charges. 

9. If a passenger who did not opt for catering service in advance and subsequently decides to purchase the same on-board, an extra amount of Rs 50 per service, in addition to the catering charges, are charged. 

10. Other terms and conditions for booking, cancellation, refund etc are applicable as per Shatabdi trains.