Vande Bharat Trains for Pilgrimage: Every Pilgrim Town with a Stop

Almost every Vande Bharat train is a daytime Chair Car train with CC (AC Chair Car) and EC (Executive Chair Car) seats, and almost every one has one day of the week when it does not run. That day off matters more than anything else when you plan a temple trip, so it is in the table below for every train.

Timetables last checked 12 November 2026, from our train and stop data. Confirm on IRCTC or NTES before you travel.

Which pilgrim towns have a Vande Bharat train?

The table lists each destination, the station the Vande Bharat Express actually stops at, the trains, where they come from, and the day they do not run. “Not on” is the day off for the pair; where the two directions differ, both are given.

Schematic, not to scale. The outline is a rough drawing to show where the stations are, not an official map.

Pilgrim towns with no Vande Bharat stop

Several famous pilgrim towns are not on any Vande Bharat timetable in our data. Here is where the nearest Vande Bharat Express stops, where the data shows one.

• Mathura and Vrindavan: no Vande Bharat stops at Mathura Jn. The Delhi–Rani Kamlapati Vande Bharat (20171 / 20172) and the Delhi–Khajuraho Vande Bharat (22470 / 22469) stop at Agra Cantt (AGC), and the Agra Cantt–Banaras Vande Bharat (20176 / 20175) starts there. Agra Cantt is about 47 km from Mathura Jn in a straight line by our station coordinates.
• Somnath: there is no station called Somnath on any Vande Bharat route, but the Sabarmati–Veraval Vande Bharat (26901 / 26902) ends at Veraval (VRL), the nearest Vande Bharat station to Somnath in our data.
• Rameswaram: no Vande Bharat stop. The nearest Vande Bharat stations in our data are on the Chennai–Madurai main line, with Madurai Jn (MDU) the closest of them.
• Kanyakumari: no Vande Bharat stop at Kanyakumari itself. The Chennai Egmore–Nagercoil Vande Bharat (20627 / 20628) ends at Nagercoil Jn (NCJ), the nearest Vande Bharat station in our data.
• Guruvayur: no Vande Bharat stop. Thrissur (TCR) is served by the two Kerala Vande Bharat pairs (20631 / 20632 and 20633 / 20634) and the KSR Bengaluru–Ernakulam train (26651 / 26652).
• Pandharpur: no Vande Bharat stop. The Mumbai–Solapur Vande Bharat (22225 / 22226) stops at Kurduvadi (KWV) and ends at Solapur Jn (SUR). See the Mumbai–Solapur Vande Bharat page.
• Rishikesh: neither Rishikesh nor Yog Nagari Rishikesh station has a Vande Bharat stop. Use Haridwar Jn (HW) or Dehradun (DDN), covered below.
• Bodh Gaya has no railway station of its own on a Vande Bharat route; Gaya Jn is the station.
• Omkareshwar: no Vande Bharat stop. The nearest Vande Bharat stations are Indore Jn and Ujjain Jn on 20911 / 20912.

Vande Bharat train for Ayodhya

Ayodhya has two stations with Vande Bharat stops, and they are on different trains.

Ayodhya Cantt (AYC) is the terminus of the Delhi–Ayodhya Vande Bharat. Train 22426 leaves Anand Vihar Terminal at 06:10 and reaches Ayodhya Cantt at 14:30, with stops at Khurja, Aligarh, Kanpur Central and Lucknow Charbagh. Train 22425 leaves Ayodhya Cantt at 15:25 and reaches Anand Vihar at 23:40. The pair covers 629 km and does not run on Wednesday. The return leaves 55 minutes after the morning train arrives, so a same-day round trip from Delhi is not realistic.

Ayodhya Dham Jn (AY) is a stop on three other Vande Bharat routes:

• 22345 Patna → Gomati Nagar (Lucknow) calls at Ayodhya Dham at 12:10, after Varanasi at 09:27. The return 22346 calls at 17:15. Not on Friday.
• 22489 Varanasi → Meerut City calls at 11:34; the return 22490 calls at 15:46. Not on Tuesday. Together with 22345, this gives a direct Vande Bharat between Varanasi and Ayodhya on every day of the week, since the two trains have different days off.
• 22549 Gorakhpur → Prayagraj calls at 08:15; the return 22550 calls at 20:26. Not on Saturday.

The full Uttar Pradesh list is on the Vande Bharat routes in Uttar Pradesh page, which also explains which Ayodhya and Lucknow station each train uses.

Vande Bharat for Varanasi

Varanasi has more Vande Bharat trains than any other pilgrim town on this page, and it is served by two stations: Varanasi Jn (BSB) and Banaras (BNRS).

From Delhi there are three options. 22436 leaves New Delhi at 06:00 and reaches Varanasi at 14:00 (not on Thursday); 22416 leaves New Delhi at 15:00 and arrives at 23:05 (not on Tuesday). The overnight Vande Bharat Sleeper 27422 leaves New Delhi at 21:40 and reaches Varanasi at 07:10 the next morning (not on Saturday), with 3A, 2A and 1A berths. Going back, 22415 leaves Varanasi at 06:00, 22435 at 15:00 and Sleeper 27421 at 20:50.

On 11 November 2026, IRCTC showed ₹1,835 in CC and ₹3,385 in EC on 22436 with the meal, ₹1,770 in CC on 22416, and ₹1,915 in 3A on Sleeper 27422.

Varanasi Jn is also the end of the Ranchi train (20887 arrives 13:00), the Deoghar train (22499 arrives 22:30), and the Meerut train (22490 arrives 18:25), and a stop on the Patna–Lucknow train. Banaras (BNRS) is the end of the Agra Cantt train 20176, which arrives at 13:00, and the Khajuraho train 26505, which arrives at 23:10.

For timetables and every stop, read the Delhi–Varanasi Vande Bharat page.

Vande Bharat to Prayagraj

Prayagraj Jn (PRYJ) is a stop on all three Delhi–Varanasi trains. Coming from Delhi, 22436 reaches Prayagraj at 12:08, 22416 at 21:11, and Sleeper 27422 at 05:05. The Agra Cantt–Banaras train 20176 stops here at 11:10. Prayagraj is also the end of the Gorakhpur–Prayagraj Vande Bharat: 22549 arrives at 13:35 via Ayodhya Dham, Lucknow and Rae Bareli, and 22550 leaves at 15:15. That train does not run on Saturday. See the Uttar Pradesh route list.

Vande Bharat train for Vaishno Devi

The station is Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK), and three Vande Bharat services end there.

Going back, 22478 leaves Katra at 05:40 and reaches New Delhi at 14:00, 22440 leaves at 14:55 and arrives at 23:10, and 26406 leaves at 06:40 for Amritsar, arriving at 11:40. Both Delhi trains take a little over eight hours for 655 km and stop at Ambala, Ludhiana and Jammu Tawi. None of the Delhi–Katra Vande Bharat Express trains run on Wednesday, so a Wednesday trip needs a different train.

Fares with the meal for one adult: 22477 is ₹1,635 in CC and ₹3,030 in EC, 22478 is ₹1,690 in CC, and 26405 from Amritsar is ₹1,040 in CC and ₹1,825 in EC. On the Delhi–Katra Vande Bharat (22439 / 22440) only vegetarian food is served; see the Vande Bharat food guide.

The route page is Delhi–Katra–Srinagar Vande Bharat.

Vande Bharat train for Kashmir

Srinagar (SINA) has two Vande Bharat pairs, both running from Jammu Tawi through Katra. There is no direct Vande Bharat from Delhi to Srinagar in our data; you change at Jammu Tawi or Katra.

• 26401 leaves Jammu Tawi at 06:20, calls at Katra at 08:05 and reaches Srinagar at 11:10. 26402 leaves Srinagar at 14:00 and reaches Jammu Tawi at 18:50. Not on Tuesday.
• 26403 leaves Jammu Tawi at 13:20, calls at Katra at 14:50 and reaches Srinagar at 18:05. 26404 leaves Srinagar at 08:00 and reaches Jammu Tawi at 12:45. Not on Wednesday.

Because the two pairs have different days off, there is a Vande Bharat to Srinagar every day of the week. From Srinagar, the fare to Jammu Tawi was ₹1,020 in CC and ₹1,780 in EC, and to Katra ₹890 in CC and ₹1,520 in EC. From Delhi, 22439 reaches Katra at 14:20, 30 minutes before 26403 calls there at 14:50 on its way to Srinagar. Both are off on Wednesday, so the connection exists on the other six days, but a 30-minute change between two separately booked trains is tight if the first one runs late.

Vande Bharat to Amritsar

Amritsar Jn (ASR), the station for the Golden Temple, has the Old Delhi–Amritsar Vande Bharat. 22487 leaves Old Delhi at 15:15 and reaches Amritsar at 20:45; 22488 leaves Amritsar at 08:20 and reaches Old Delhi at 13:50. Neither runs on Friday. The Amritsar–Katra pair (26405 / 26406, not on Saturday) links the Golden Temple and Vaishno Devi in five hours without going through Delhi.

Vande Bharat train for Haridwar and Rishikesh

Haridwar Jn (HW) is a stop on both Vande Bharat trains to Dehradun (DDN):

• 22457 leaves Anand Vihar Terminal at 17:50, reaches Haridwar at 21:11 and Dehradun at 22:35. The return 22458 leaves Dehradun at 07:00, Haridwar at 08:09, and reaches Anand Vihar at 11:45. Not on Thursday.
• 22545 leaves Lucknow at 05:15, calls at Shahjehanpur, Bareilly, Moradabad and Najibabad, and reaches Haridwar at 12:05. The return 22546 leaves Haridwar at 15:36 and reaches Lucknow at 22:40. Not on Monday.

From Delhi, the timings suit an evening arrival and a morning departure, so plan at least one night in Haridwar. For Rishikesh, neither Rishikesh station has a Vande Bharat stop; get off at Haridwar or Dehradun.

Vande Bharat train for Shirdi and Trimbakeshwar

Sainagar Shirdi (SNSI) has one Vande Bharat pair from Mumbai. 22223 leaves Mumbai CSMT at 06:20, calls at Dadar, Thane, Kalyan and Nashik Road, and reaches Shirdi at 11:30. 22224 leaves Shirdi at 17:45 and reaches CSMT at 22:50. The train does not run on Tuesday. That gives 6 h 15 min in Shirdi on a day trip. Fares were ₹990 in CC and ₹1,855 in EC on 22223, and ₹1,140 in CC and ₹2,035 in EC on 22224.

Nashik Road (NK), the station for Trimbakeshwar, is on the same train (22223 at 08:57) and also on the Mumbai–Hazur Sahib Nanded Vande Bharat: 20706 leaves CSMT at 13:15 and calls at Nashik Road at 16:18 (not on Thursday), and 20705 from Nanded calls at 10:58 (not on Wednesday). The same Nanded train serves Hazur Sahib Nanded (NED), arriving there at 22:25. Full timetable: Mumbai–Shirdi Vande Bharat.

Vande Bharat train for Tirupati

Tirupati (TPTY) has one Vande Bharat pair, from Secunderabad. 20701 leaves Secunderabad at 06:10, calls at Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole and Nellore, and reaches Tirupati at 14:35. 20702 leaves Tirupati at 15:15 and reaches Secunderabad at 23:42. Neither runs on Tuesday. Fares were ₹3,105 in EC on 20701, and ₹1,650 in CC and ₹3,055 in EC on 20702.

There is no Vande Bharat that ends at Tirupati from Chennai or Bengaluru in our data. The Chennai Central–Narasapur Vande Bharat (20677 / 20678) stops at Renigunta Jn (RU) at 07:05 and 21:50; Renigunta and Tirupati stations are about 9 km apart in a straight line by our station coordinates. Full timetable: Secunderabad–Tirupati Vande Bharat.

Vande Bharat to Madurai

Madurai Jn (MDU) has three Vande Bharat routes:

• 20627 Chennai Egmore → Nagercoil reaches Madurai at 10:38; 20628 calls on the way back at 17:03. Not on Wednesday.
• 20665 Chennai Egmore → Tirunelveli reaches Madurai at 20:45; 20666 calls at 07:55. Not on Tuesday.
• 20672 leaves Bengaluru Cantt at 13:30 and reaches Madurai at 21:40; 20671 leaves Madurai at 05:15. Not on Tuesday. The fare was ₹1,765 in CC and ₹3,080 in EC on 20672.

All three stop at Tiruchchirappalli and Dindigul. See Bengaluru–Madurai, Chennai–Tirunelveli and the Tamil Nadu route list.

Vande Bharat for Puri

Puri (PURI) is the end of two Vande Bharat routes. 22895 leaves Howrah at 06:10 and reaches Puri at 13:00, calling at Kharagpur, Balasore, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khurda Road; 22896 leaves Puri at 13:40 and reaches Howrah at 20:30. Not on Thursday. On 11 November 2026 the fare was ₹1,485 in CC and ₹2,665 in EC with the meal. The second route is from Rourkela: 20835 reaches Puri at 21:40, and 20836 leaves Puri at 05:00 (not on Tuesday). Both trains stop at Bhubaneswar. Full timetable: Howrah–Puri Vande Bharat; state list: Odisha.

Vande Bharat to Gaya for Bodh Gaya

Gaya Jn (GAYA) is the end of the Howrah–Gaya Vande Bharat and a stop on several others:

• 22303 leaves Howrah at 06:45 and reaches Gaya at 12:30; 22304 leaves Gaya at 15:15. Not on Thursday. This leaves 2 h 45 min at Gaya on the same day.
• 20887 Ranchi → Varanasi calls at 09:50; 20888 at 18:45. Not on Tuesday.
• 22500 Varanasi → Deoghar calls at 09:15; 22499 at 19:00. Not on Tuesday.
• 22349 Patna → Ranchi calls at 08:20; 22350 at 20:40. Not on Tuesday.
• The Tatanagar–Patna trains (20893 / 20894 on Wednesday to Saturday, and 21893–21896 on Sunday and Monday) also stop at Gaya.

See the Bihar route list and the Jharkhand route list.

Vande Bharat to Deoghar (Baidyanath Dham)

Deoghar (DGHR) is the end of the Varanasi–Deoghar Vande Bharat. 22500 leaves Varanasi at 06:10, calls at Gaya and Jasidih Jn (JSME), and reaches Deoghar at 13:40. 22499 leaves Deoghar at 15:10 and reaches Varanasi at 22:30. Not on Tuesday. Jasidih is also a stop on the Howrah–Patna Vande Bharat: 22347 calls at 18:57 and 22348 at 10:41 (not on Wednesday). See Howrah–Patna and Jharkhand.

Vande Bharat to Dwarka and Somnath

Dwarka (DWK) is on the Sabarmati–Okha Vande Bharat. 22925 leaves Sabarmati at 06:15, calls at Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Jamnagar, and reaches Dwarka at 12:42. 22926 leaves Dwarka at 17:12. Not on Tuesday. That leaves 4 h 30 min at Dwarka on a same-day trip.

For Somnath, the Sabarmati–Veraval Vande Bharat 26901 leaves at 06:00 and reaches Veraval (VRL) at 12:55 via Junagadh; 26902 leaves Veraval at 15:50. Not on Thursday. See the Gujarat route list.

Vande Bharat to Khajuraho, Ujjain and Ajmer

Khajuraho (KURJ): 22470 leaves Hazrat Nizamuddin at 06:00, calls at Agra Cantt, Gwalior and Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi, and reaches Khajuraho at 14:20; 22469 leaves at 14:50 (not on Monday). 26506 leaves Banaras at 05:15 and reaches Khajuraho at 13:10; 26505 leaves at 15:20 (not on Thursday).

Ujjain Jn (UJN): the only Vande Bharat is the Indore–Nagpur pair. 20911 leaves Indore at 06:10 and calls at Ujjain at 06:50, then Bhopal at 09:10. 20912 from Nagpur calls at Ujjain at 22:40 before ending at Indore. Neither runs on Sunday. There is no Vande Bharat from Delhi or Mumbai to Ujjain in our data. See the Madhya Pradesh route list.

Ajmer Jn (AII): 20977 leaves Ajmer at 06:10 for Chandigarh via Jaipur and Delhi Cantt; 20978 from Chandigarh reaches Ajmer at 23:58. Not on Wednesday. See Rajasthan.

Vande Bharat to Kamakhya and Mysuru

Kamakhya (KYQ): the overnight Vande Bharat Sleeper 27575 leaves Howrah at 18:20 and reaches Kamakhya at 08:20 the next morning (not on Thursday); 27576 leaves Kamakhya at 18:15 (not on Wednesday). The daytime 22227 from New Jalpaiguri calls at Kamakhya at 11:14 before Guwahati; 22228 calls at 16:40 (not on Tuesday). See the Vande Bharat Sleeper page.

Mysuru Jn (MYS): 20607 leaves Chennai Central at 05:50 and reaches Mysuru at 12:20 via Katpadi and KSR Bengaluru; 20608 returns at 13:05 (not on Wednesday). 20664 leaves Chennai at 17:00 and reaches Mysuru at 23:30; 20663 leaves Mysuru at 06:00 (not on Thursday). The fare on 20607 was ₹1,285 in CC and ₹2,420 in EC. See Chennai–Bengaluru–Mysuru.

Also asked: Vande Bharat train for Goa

Goa is a holiday trip rather than a pilgrimage, but it comes up in the same searches. The Mumbai–Goa Vande Bharat 22229 leaves Mumbai CSMT at 05:25 and reaches Madgaon (MAO) at 13:10; 22230 leaves Madgaon at 14:40. Not on Friday. The fare was ₹1,625 in CC and ₹3,145 in EC on 11 November 2026. The Konkan line runs a slower monsoon timetable each year, so check your date between mid-June and October (Konkan Railway). Details: Mumbai–Goa Vande Bharat.

Festival travel tips for Vande Bharat pilgrims

Festival days and long weekends are when the Vande Bharat Express trains to temple towns are hardest to book.

• Book on the day booking opens. Booking opens 60 days before the journey, at 08:00 IST, counted from the day the train leaves its first station. Use the booking date calculator to find the date, and read the booking guide.
• Check the day off before you pick a date. Almost every train on this page has one day a week with no service, and some weekend trains run only on certain days. IRCTC does not show the train on that day. The running days checker helps.
• Tatkal is a backup, not a plan. Tatkal for CC and EC opens at 10:00 IST one day before the train leaves its first station, and it costs more. There is no Tatkal on the Vande Bharat Sleeper. See the Vande Bharat Tatkal guide.
• Understand the waiting list. A Chair Car ticket still on the waiting list when the chart is made is cancelled and refunded automatically, less the clerkage charge. EC waiting lists have been shorter than CC on the trains we checked. Read the waiting list guide and check the chart preparation time.
• Decide on food when you book. The meal is optional on Chair Car trains and is added to the fare. If you keep a fast or eat only certain food, No Food lowers the fare. The Delhi–Katra Vande Bharat (22439 / 22440) serves only vegetarian food. See the food guide.
• No discount for elders. Senior citizens pay the normal Vande Bharat fare; see concessions and quotas.
• Pack to the rules. Prasad boxes and extra bags are luggage like any other; see the luggage rules.
• Leave a margin on the return. A return train that leaves an hour after you arrive is not a same-day trip. Use the return trip planner to see how long you get at the destination.

How to read the times on this page

All times are scheduled times from our timetable data. Trains run late at times, so check live status on NTES before you leave for the station. When a train “calls at” a station, the time given is the arrival time unless the train starts there. “Not on” means the train does not leave its first station on that day; on a daytime train this is the same as your travel day. Fares are for one adult in the general quota, including the optional meal, as recorded on 11 and 12 November 2026. Your fare can differ with the date, the class, and whether you choose a meal.

Vande Bharat pilgrimage train FAQs

Is there a Vande Bharat train for Ayodhya? Yes. 22426 from Delhi (Anand Vihar) reaches Ayodhya Cantt at 14:30, and 22425 returns at 15:25, except on Wednesday. Ayodhya Dham Jn is also a stop on the Patna–Lucknow, Varanasi–Meerut and Gorakhpur–Prayagraj Vande Bharat trains.

Is there a Vande Bharat train for Ujjain? Yes, but only one pair: the Indore–Nagpur Vande Bharat. 20911 stops at Ujjain at 06:50 and 20912 at 22:40, every day except Sunday. There is no direct Vande Bharat from Delhi or Mumbai to Ujjain.

Which Vande Bharat goes to Vaishno Devi? 22439 (New Delhi 06:00 → Katra 14:20) and 22477 (New Delhi 15:00 → Katra 23:20), both not on Wednesday, and 26405 from Amritsar (16:40 → 21:45), not on Saturday. The station is Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK).

Is there a Vande Bharat train to Kashmir? Yes. 26401 and 26403 run from Jammu Tawi through Katra to Srinagar, arriving at 11:10 and 18:05. 26402 and 26404 run back. One pair is off on Tuesday and the other on Wednesday, so there is a train every day.

Which Vande Bharat goes to Shirdi? 22223 from Mumbai CSMT at 06:20, reaching Sainagar Shirdi at 11:30. The return 22224 leaves at 17:45. Neither runs on Tuesday.

Is there a Vande Bharat train for Tirupati? Yes, from Secunderabad only. 20701 reaches Tirupati at 14:35 and 20702 leaves at 15:15, except on Tuesday.

Is there a Vande Bharat train for Haridwar? Yes. 22457 from Anand Vihar reaches Haridwar at 21:11 (not on Thursday), and 22545 from Lucknow reaches Haridwar at 12:05 (not on Monday). Both continue to Dehradun.

Which station is Vande Bharat for Varanasi? Most Vande Bharat trains use Varanasi Jn (BSB). The trains from Agra Cantt and Khajuraho use Banaras (BNRS).

Is there a Vande Bharat to Puri? Yes: 22895 from Howrah (06:10 → 13:00, not on Thursday) and 20835 from Rourkela (14:00 → 21:40, not on Tuesday).

Is there a Vande Bharat train for Goa? Yes, 22229 from Mumbai CSMT to Madgaon, not on Friday. See the Mumbai–Goa page.

Is there a Vande Bharat to Mathura or Rameswaram? No. Neither has a Vande Bharat stop in our data. For Mathura the nearest Vande Bharat stop is Agra Cantt; for Rameswaram, Madurai Jn.

Related pages

• All Vande Bharat routes
• Vande Bharat trains from Delhi
• Vande Bharat trains from Mumbai
• Vande Bharat trains from Howrah
• Trains between stations

Sources

Timetables, stops, distances and days off: our train and stop data, compiled from erail and cross-checked with ConfirmTkt for each train, checked 11–12 November 2026. Station distances marked “in a straight line” are calculated from our station coordinates, not by rail. Fares: IRCTC fare enquiry (11 November 2026) and erail fare data that matches IRCTC (12 November 2026). Always confirm on IRCTC or NTES before travel. Report a correction.