Vande Bharat Has The Highest Fares, But This Train Is India's Biggest Moneymaker
The Bengaluru Rajdhani tops Indian Railways' earnings, outpacing the popular Vande Bharat Express, despite the latter's high fares and widespread popularity
When it comes to notable trains under Indian Railways, the Vande Bharat Express is often the first to come to mind. Known for its speed, comfort, and modern facilities, it has gained immense popularity among passengers. This popularity, however, comes at a price; Vande Bharat fares are approximately 33% higher than those of premium trains such as the Shatabdi and Rajdhani.
Despite the steep ticket prices, the Vande Bharat Express is proving to be a financially beneficial venture for Indian Railways. There are currently 114 Vande Bharat trains in service across the country, with the exception of the northeastern states. Many of these routes boast occupancy rates exceeding 100%, reflecting strong demand.
Bengaluru Rajdhani Leads In Earnings
While Vande Bharat might appear to be the top revenue generator, this is not entirely accurate. In fact, the Bengaluru Rajdhani Express holds the title of the highest-earning train for Indian Railways.
This train, number 22692, which operates between Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi) and Bengaluru, Karnataka, is a major money-spinner. It carries over 5.09 lakh passengers annually and has generated a staggering Rs 176 crore in revenue. Interestingly, it does not depart from New Delhi or Old Delhi stations, but rather from Nizamuddin station.
Although the Delhi – Mumbai and Delhi – Howrah routes are known for being among the busiest in the country, they do not feature among the top three in terms of revenue.
The second position on the earnings chart is held by the Sealdah Rajdhani Express (train number 12314), which runs between New Delhi and Sealdah (Kolkata). It records 509,164 passengers per year, generating Rs 128.8 crore in revenue.
Following closely is the New Delhi – Dibrugarh Rajdhani, earning Rs 126.3 crore annually, making it the third-highest revenue-generating train for Indian Railways.
Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated!
view comments
First Published:
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
33 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Narayana Health to add 2,000 beds, expand insurance schemes in FY26
Bengaluru-headquartered hospital chain Narayana Health aims to grow its domestic revenue by 10 per cent in FY26, in line with industry benchmarks, a senior company official said. Managing director and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rupert told Business Standard: 'Last fiscal we did about Rs 4,349 crore in India revenue and we want to grow at a rate at which the healthcare industry is growing — over 10 per cent. We look to be on the same momentum and revenue.' Sandhya J, chief financial officer at Devi Shetty's Narayana Health, said the company plans to scale up its Aditi and Arya health insurance schemes in Karnataka and West Bengal. 'The entire healthcare ecosystem is failing in trust. We are on the path to solve the trust deficit and episodic interference of fund transfer. On the back of this, we aim to double down on our insurance scheme and build a strong customer base in Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Mysore, and Kolkata.' Commenting on efforts to improve profit after tax (PAT), which declined 2.3 per cent to Rs 196 crore in Q1 due to increased investments in integrated care and other financial costs, Sandhya said PAT optimisation will improve as the India business grows. Some clinics have started breaking even, reducing losses from the health insurance schemes. 'Over a period of time, we will be able to keep the losses in check and expand margins in the domestic business. PAT should improve. Finance cost will continue to increase due to the Rs 3,000 crore project to add 2,000 beds across India over the next three years. The integrated care dilution will continue over the next year but we hope to maintain a decent level of cash burn.' She added that a large part of the funding will come through bank borrowings and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) as needed. So far, Rs 800 crore has been raised for projects already signed. The CFO noted that about Rs 1,500–2,000 crore in loans might be raised in this fiscal, depending on upcoming project developments. 'We are exploring opportunities to expand, some might be inorganic as well. Borrowings will be linked to the construction progress of our current projects.' During the quarter, revenue from international patients declined, primarily due to reduced footfall from Bangladesh. Narayana expects this trend to continue, given ongoing geopolitical tensions. 'The goal is to keep focusing on domestic growth and see how well we can push the numbers. Eventually, in the next two to three years, we believe that revenue contribution from Bangladesh will go down to zero. Not to miss, the country is building its own healthcare infrastructure.' Looking ahead, Narayana expects its integrated care business to account for a larger share of overall revenue. At present, cardiac sciences and oncology contribute approximately 33 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. On Tuesday, the Clinical Research team and Medha AI developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that predicts left ventricular ejection fraction from ECG images, enabling early heart failure detection and improved diagnostic access. 'All along we have waited for Western countries to develop these technologies. Today we are developing this because this country is blessed with phenomenally skilled, passionate software engineers and AI experts. This is our strength. We have made massive investments in building the digital platform, which is far ahead of all the other hospitals. With the great combination of a digital platform and the AI tool, healthcare will never be the same,' said Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman and founder of Narayana Health, at a media briefing. The company said that trained on over 100,000 ECG images paired with echocardiogram reports, the model showed strong predictive performance. With external validation across 14 tertiary centres and over 57,000 patients, it identified 97 per cent of individuals with severely reduced ejection fraction (≤35 per cent).
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Goa govt absorbed expenditure of Rs 65cr under zero water bill scheme
Porvorim: During the period for which the PWD implemented the Zero Water Bill Scheme, from Sep 1, 2021, to April 30, 2025, it issued 41.9 lakh zero bills to domestic consumers. The total bill amount of Rs 65.5 crore was waived under the scheme, stated the reply tabled in the assembly by chief minister Pramod Sawant to a question by Velim MLA Cruz Silva. Goa govt officially ended its zero-bill scheme on May 1. The scheme allowed the drinking water bill to be waived for families who limited their usage to less than 16,000 litres of water per month. The idea behind the scheme was to encourage the judicious use of drinking water resources. However, the CM said that earlier this year, the scheme of free water to consumers had to be stopped due to the misuse of water to wash cars or sustain gardens. He said govt is already supplying treated water to consumers by bearing a loss of Rs 16 per litre. Sawant said that the total water demand for domestic, commercial, and industrial uses is 695MLD — with system losses being factored in. The CM told the House that the highest demand for water at 146.5MLD is in Salcete taluka, followed by 123MLD in Bardez, and 94MLD in Tiswadi. He, however, said that no village of Goa faces an acute water shortage. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Jennifer Garner's sweet photo on sprawling family farm gets fans talking Watch More Undo 'The complaints regarding water shortages or non-supply of water are of a localised nature due to power failure, leakages, breakdowns, and the blockage of pipelines,' he said. The CM said these problems are attended to within the shortest possible time. 'In such eventualities, tanker supply is resorted to as a short-term measure. However, as a long-term measure, govt is investing in upgrading and modernising water treatment facilities, distribution networks, and storage systems,' he said. Sawant stated that 11 projects for new water treatment plants or augmentation of the capacity of existing plants are under process. He said that three plants — at Ganjem, Tuem, and Siolim — will be commissioned in Dec 2025.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Ant Group to exit Eternal, sell shares worth $612mn
MUMBAI: China's Ant Group will exit Eternal (formerly Zomato) by selling its remaining 1.9% stake worth Rs 5,370 crore ($612 million) through one or more block deals on Thursday, term sheet of the deal showed. This will be the second startup exit for the Chinese firm this week after Paytm. Ant Group, an affiliate of Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group, had first invested in Eternal in early 2018. Ant Group, through Antfin Singapore Holding, will offload 18.8 crore shares at a floor price of Rs 285 per share, a 4.6% discount to Eternal's closing price of Rs 298.85 on the NSE on Wednesday. Eternal did not comment on the development when contacted by TOI. Ant Group has been paring stakes in Eternal since last year. In Aug 2024, it had nearly halved its stake in the company to a little over 2% through two separate block deals worth over Rs 4,000 crore. An early backer in local startups, the Chinese investor seems to be reducing its India exposure. Earlier this week, Ant Group exited fintech Paytm by selling its remaining 5.8% stake worth over Rs 3,000 crore. Eternal's founder, Deepinder Goyal, currently holds about 3.8% stake in the company. Goyal, however, is not classified as a promoter. With businesses in food delivery and quick-commerce, Eternal has capped its foreign shareholding at 49.5%. As of June 2025, the foreign shareholding was about 43%, the company said in a recent letter to shareholders. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays .
