Hyderabad, May 16 (IANS): The passenger capacity of the Secunderabad - Tirupati - Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express will more than double to 1,128 and the train will travel faster from Wednesday.

The train which was travelling with eight coaches and 530 passenger capacity is being enhanced with revised composition of 16 coaches and 1,128 passenger capacity from May 17.

The South Central Railway (SCR) announced that the travel time in both the directions is also being reduced by 15 minutes and the train will complete its journey in either direction in 8 hours 15 minutes, instead of the present duration of 8 hours 30 minutes.

The railways have taken the decision to increase the coaches keeping in view the heavy passenger demand for the train.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged-off by the train on April 8.

According to SCR, the Train No. 20701/20702 Secunderabad - Tirupati - Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express was initially introduced with 8 coaches' composition, which included 01 Executive Class and 07 Chair Cars. Since the introduction of the regular services, the train has been operating with more than 100 per cent patronage consistently.

While, the Train No. 20701 Secunderabad - Tirupati Vande Bharat Express recorded a patronage of 131 per cent in April and 135 per cent in May, the Train No. 20702 Tirupati - Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express recorded a patronage of 136 per cent in April and 138 per cent in May.

In terms of number of passengers, till May 15, a total of 44,992 passengers have availed Vande Bharat Train service in both directions. While 21,798 passengers have travelled by Vande Bharat Express from Secunderabad to Tirupati, another 23,194 passengers have travelled from Tirupati to Secunderabad. Both the categories of coaches - Executive as well as Chair Car have witnessed more than 100 per cent patronage in both directions.

The new composition will have 14 Chair Cars with 1,024 capacity (instead of earlier 6 with a capacity of 478) and two Executive Class with 104 capacity (instead of earlier one coach with a capacity of 52).

Arun Kumar Jain, General Manager, South Central Railways has said that the doubling of the coaches is also a timely addition, as during this summer holiday season more passengers will be able to visit Tirupati.

The Vande Bharat Express between Secunderabad and Tirupati is also being made faster with travel time in both directions being reduced by 15 minutes.

To accommodate the reduced travel time, the train timings at stations have also been revised with effect from May 17.

The train enroute stops only at four stations - Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole and Nellore.