Travelling On Train 18, India's Fastest: How Much Do Tickets Cost?

Travelling between Delhi and Varanasi on board India's fastest train, the Vande Bharat Express or Train 18, will cost passengers Rs 1,850 in the chair car class while it will be Rs 3,520 in the executive class, including the catering charges, a senior railway official said on Monday.

On the return journey, the chair car (CC) ticket will cost Rs 1,795 and the executive class (EC) ticket will be priced at Rs 3,470, the official told PTI.

While the chair car fares are 1.5 times the base price of Shatabdi trains running the same distance, the executive class fares are 1.4 times that of the base fare of first class air conditioned seating in the premium train, the official sources said.

The semi-high speed train, which is scheduled to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15, is India's first engine-less train.

The ticket fares between Delhi and Kanpur (447 km) will be Rs 1,150 in the chair car and Rs 2,245 in EC, between Delhi and Prayagraj (642 km) the price will be Rs 1,480 and Rs 2,935 of CC and EC respectively.

Between Kanpur and Prayagraj (195 km) the price for CC will be Rs 630 and for EC it will be Rs 1,245. The prices between Kanpur and Varanasi (319 km) a CC ticket will cost Rs 1,065 and an EC ticket will cost Rs 1,925, the sources said.

The train will have differently priced meals as well.

While passengers travelling from New Delhi to Varanasi in the executive class will be charged Rs 399 for morning tea, breakfast and lunch, travellers in the chair car will need to pay Rs 344 for the same.

Those travelling from New Delhi to Kanpur and Prayagraj will have to pay Rs 155 and Rs 122 for executive class and chair car, respectively.

From Varanasi to New Delhi, the passengers will be charged Rs 349 and Rs 288 in the executive class and chair, respectively.

While there will be no option to opt out of meals for the passengers of the train, the ones travelling its first or final legs have been given that option.

These passengers can save Rs 222 for CC tickets and Rs 244 for EC tickets by opting out of the meals provided by the IRCTC.

The Vande Bharat Express, or Train 18, is a luxury all air-conditioned chair car. It will take around eight hours to travel between Delhi and Varanasi, stopping at only two stations en route - Kanpur and Allahabad (Prayagraj).

The Train 18, manufactured under the ''Make in India'' initiative at ICF, Chennai, is India's fastest train, having attained speeds of over 180 kmph during its trials. On the Delhi-Varanasi route, however, the section speed restrictions would mean that the new train set will hit a maximum speed of 130 kmph.