Citizen Observation 12 of 777 | 162 Vande Bharat Trains. | Many Known and Unknown Destinations. | One New Way to Discover India.

 Published 28^th July, 2026

What If the Train Helped Us Discover the Destination?

Sometimes We Know the Date Before We Know the Destination.

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru

 

The Starting Point

Dear IRCTC, CRIS and Indian Railways Teams,

At the outset, congratulations on the new beta version of the IRCTC ticket-booking portal.

The familiar journey remains beautifully simple:

From. To. Date. Search Trains.

That works when we already know where we want to go.

But with 162 Vande Bharat train services operating across India, perhaps the growing network creates another possibility.

Not merely:

Which train will take me to my destination?

But sometimes:

Which destination could this train help me discover?

There is also a nice Citizen Observation 777 continuity here.

CO2 said:

A Beta Portal Deserves Beta Citizens.

CO12 is one such Beta Citizen thought.

Act I | The Empty “To” Box

Friday evening.

The working week is almost over.

Someone looks at the calendar.

Saturday.

Sunday.

Two days.

Enough time to get away.

The IRCTC portal opens.

From: Bengaluru.

Date: This weekend.

Then comes the next box.

To:

The cursor waits.

Because this time, the traveller knows when to travel...

but not where.

For most railway journeys, From → To → Date is exactly the right beginning.

But for this traveller, perhaps that empty “To” box represents something else.

An invitation to discover.

 

Act II | A Vande Bharat Doorway

Could the new IRCTC experience eventually offer a separate:

VANDE BHARAT

discovery doorway?

Not as a replacement for conventional train search.

Simply another starting point for someone thinking:

“I would like to travel by Vande Bharat. Where could I go?”

Perhaps the starting city is known.

Perhaps the dates are known.

Perhaps even the number of days is known.

Only one thing is missing.

The destination.

Citizen Observation 777 draws only the first line:

Vande Bharat → Discover

How that discovery eventually works belongs to IRCTC, CRIS, Indian Railways and the experts closest to the platform.

 

Act III | Chalo, Where Shall We Go?

Saturday morning.

Tea arrives.

Someone at home says:

“Chalo... two-day trip next weekend?”

“Where?”

A few names immediately appear.

Some are familiar.

Some have already been visited.

Someone wants something different.

Another person picks up the phone.

Then comes a different question:

“Why don't we first see where Vande Bharat has tickets available both ways?”

The conversation changes.

Now the train is no longer merely transport after the destination has been chosen.

The train becomes part of choosing the destination.

From Bengaluru, perhaps Belagavi appears.

Someone notices Madurai–Bengaluru.

From Secunderabad, perhaps Tirupati enters the conversation.

From Chennai, Coimbatore.

Elsewhere, Visakhapatnam–Bhubaneswar, Delhi–Dehradun or New Delhi–Katra might spark completely different plans.

A destination appears on the screen.

Someone pauses.

Then says:

“I hadn't thought of going there.”

Another person looks it up.

Someone checks what there is to see.

The conversation gets longer.

And somewhere between the train and the destination...

a weekend begins to take shape.

 

Act IV | One Citizen Suggestion

Could IRCTC eventually consider a dedicated Vande Bharat discovery journey?

The existing search answers:

I know where I want to go. How do I get there?

The additional doorway could answer:

I know when I can travel. Where could I go?

Four possibilities follow.

1. Better discovery of available capacity
Flexible travellers could discover services and seats they might otherwise never search for.

2. More tourism possibilities
The train could introduce travellers to destinations they had not considered.

3. More spontaneous and last-minute journeys
Sometimes a free weekend arrives before a destination does.

4. More conversations that become journeys
A casual “Chalo, let's go somewhere” could become:

Discover → Discuss → Decide → Book → Travel.

The First Line on the Whiteboard

Citizen Observation 777 draws only the first line on the whiteboard.

For CO12:

Vande Bharat → Discover

Should discovery begin with a city, date, weekend, journey duration, seat availability, return journey or tourism possibility?

Those are subsequent lines.

The suggestion is the doorway.
The design belongs to the experts.

 

Act V | When the Train Comes First

For generations, the railway booking question has naturally been:

Where are we going?

Then we find the train.

That journey isn't going anywhere.

But perhaps Vande Bharat creates room for another conversation.

The weekend comes first.

Then the train.

Then a destination appears.

A place we know.

Or perhaps one we don't.

We search.

We talk.

We decide.

We book.

And one morning...

the train pulls away from the platform towards a destination that, only a few days earlier, wasn't even part of the plan.

That is the possibility.

Today, we usually choose the destination and then search for the train.

What if, sometimes, the train helped us discover the destination?

 

Citizen Observation

The new IRCTC beta portal gives travellers the familiar starting journey:

From. To. Date. Search.

CO12 draws just one additional line:

Vande Bharat → Discover India

Not every traveller needs it.

Not every journey begins spontaneously.

But sometimes...

we know the date before we know the destination.

And somewhere around a breakfast table, a family may simply say:

“Chalo, let's go somewhere this weekend.”

Perhaps the next destination is already connected.

It is just waiting to be discovered.

 

Disclaimer

Citizen Observation 12 is a citizen-experience suggestion inspired by the new IRCTC beta portal and the growing Vande Bharat network.

The routes and examples mentioned are illustrative. Vande Bharat services, train numbers, routes, operating days, schedules, timings, stoppages and seat availability may change due to operational or other reasons. Travellers should verify current information through official Indian Railways / IRCTC channels before planning or booking a journey.

The feasibility, technology, architecture, search logic and eventual design of any discovery feature rightly belong to IRCTC, CRIS, Indian Railways and the relevant experts.

 

The April 11 – Digital Transactions Day Philosophy

A railway ticket ends in a payment.

But the digital journey begins much earlier.

Discovery → Search → Selection → Booking → Payment → Journey

Digital Transactions Day advocacy looks beyond the payment moment to the entire digital experience surrounding it.

That philosophy also inspires the proposal to recognise April 11 as Digital Transactions Day — UPI Birthday.

Digital Payments are a sub-set of Digital Transactions.

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Additional Reading:

https://newsonair.gov.in/162-vande-bharat-train-services-currently-operating-across-country-says-govt/

This is gold, https://www.cntraveller.in/story/full-list-of-vande-bharat-express-trains-timings-schedule-tickets/

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The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com

 

UPI LITE X (Offline) in Vande Bharat Trains

         Eagerly anticipating the opportunity to buy food onboard Vande Bharat Trains using the UPI LITE X (Offline) feature.

The UPI LITE X (Offline) functionality has been launched on the NPCI BHIM App, and now it's Indian Railways' turn to activate UPI Lite X for food transactions on Vande Bharat Trains. We should actively discourage the traditional cash payment method.

It's worth noting that passengers who initially didn't choose to include meals when booking their tickets can still purchase food while onboard Vande Bharat Trains.

Naturally, it's essential for the catering team to ensure they have an adequate supply of food items available on these trains.

Passengers who do not pre-purchase their meals will incur an additional charge of ₹50 if they choose to order food on the train, provided it is available.

 

Railway sources have indicated that there has been some confusion regarding the availability of food items on Vande Bharat trains. To address this, moving forward, passengers will receive SMS notifications about catering services at the time of booking and again 24 to 48 hours before their journey for confirmation.

 

Rail officials stated, "The SMS notifications will also include details about the meals and the portion sizes that will be served." Many passengers had previously expressed dissatisfaction, citing instances where they were served vegetarian breakfast despite having paid for a non-vegetarian option. This new system is aimed at enhancing transparency, ensuring that passengers are fully aware of what they are paying for.

 

Expanding upon the success of the UPI LITE feature, the RBI Governor has introduced UPI LITE X for offline payments, enabling consumers to make payments from any location, even in situations with limited or no internet connectivity.

This innovative product leverages Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

This advancement greatly simplifies transactions, particularly in areas with unreliable connectivity, ensuring that money can be sent and received without interruptions when internet access is unavailable.

UPI Lite X extends its transaction capabilities to regions with connectivity challenges, such as underground stations and remote locales, distinguishing itself from both regular UPI and UPI Lite.

While regular UPI facilitates seamless money transfers between bank accounts regardless of the amount, UPI Lite is tailored for small payments.

UPI Lite X, on the other hand, surpasses both by enabling offline transactions in areas with poor or no connectivity.

To ensure the reliability and effectiveness of these offline transactions, it's crucial that the sender and receiver are in close proximity to each other—a sort of digital handshake between devices.

With UPI Lite X, users can initiate a one-time maximum payment of Rs. 500, making it a convenient solution for swift, small transactions.

While individual transactions through UPI Lite X are capped at Rs. 500, users still have the flexibility to make payments totaling up to Rs. 4,000 per day.

Let's highlight the distinctions between UPI Lite X, UPI, and UPI Lite:

01) UPI Lite functions as a payment solution utilizing the NPCI Common Library (CL) app, primarily designed for low-value transactions. On the other hand, UPI operates as a 24x7 instant payment system, facilitating real-time fund transfers between two bank accounts.

02) When utilizing UPI or UPI Lite, the recipient doesn't necessitate physical presence and can accept funds from anywhere within the country. Transactions can be executed by scanning a QR code or by using the recipient's UPI ID or linked phone number.

03) In contrast, UPI Lite X transactions necessitate both the sender's and receiver's devices to be in close proximity. These transactions employ NFC technology to transfer money between on-device wallets, eliminating the necessity for internet access.

 

 

Meanwhile, the newly introduced Vande Bharat trains are set to ply on several key routes across the country, including the Udaipur-Jaipur, Tirunelveli-Madurai-Chennai, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Vijayawada-Chennai (via Renigunta), Patna-Howrah, Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram, Rourkela-Bhubaneswar-Puri, Ranchi-Howrah, and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad corridors.

 

These trains are poised to become the fastest means of transportation on their respective routes, promising time savings ranging from 30 minutes to three hours.

 

These nine Vande Bharat trains will significantly enhance connectivity across eleven states, namely Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Gujarat.

 

Operational on specific routes, these Vande Bharat trains are designed to offer passengers the quickest travel experience possible.

 

Compared to the current fastest trains on these routes, the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar-Puri Vande Bharat Express and Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express will cut travel times by approximately 3 hours, the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express by over 2.5 hours, the Tirunelveli-Madurai-Chennai Vande Bharat Express by more than 2 hours, the Ranchi-Howrah Vande Bharat Express, Patna-Howrah Vande Bharat Express, and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express by about 1 hour each, and the Udaipur-Jaipur Vande Bharat Express by approximately half an hour.

 

In accordance with the Prime Minister's vision to enhance connectivity to significant religious sites across the nation, the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar-Puri Vande Bharat Express and Tirunelveli-Madurai-Chennai Vande Bharat Express will connect important pilgrimage destinations like Puri and Madurai.

Additionally, the Vijayawada-Chennai Vande Bharat Express, operating via the Renigunta route, will offer connectivity to the Tirupati Pilgrimage Center.

  

Notice: The statements in this blog post represent my individual perspectives exclusively.

The fundamental objective is Safe ePayments, nothing beyond, nothing less.

Copyrights, if any belong to the original copyright holder only.

 

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