Sabarmati-Veraval Vande Bharat: The Railway Board has Approved a New Route for this Train

The Railway Board has approved a new route for the Sabarmati-Veraval Vande Bharat Express. The train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26, 2025, and started regular operations from May 27, 2025. It is currently operated and maintained by the Western Railway zone.

Sabarmati-Veraval Vande Bharat

At present, the Vande Bharat Express runs between Sabarmati and Veraval via Viramgam, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Jetalsar, and Junagarh. However, the Railway Board has now decided to change its route. In a letter sent to Western Railway on June 8, 2026, the Board instructed that the train should run via Botad, Jetalsar, and Junagarh instead of the existing route through Viramgam, Surendranagar, and Rajkot.

Reason behind the Route Change

The Railway Board has asked Western Railway to implement the revised route from the beginning of the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) or from the no-booking date, whichever comes earlier. The route change is expected to slightly reduce the travel time of the train. Currently, the Sabarmati-Veraval Vande Bharat Express covers a distance of 438 km in about seven hours. After the route revision, the train will complete its journey in around 6 hours and 50 minutes, saving approximately 10 minutes. The train operates on all days except Thursday.

New Stoppages

Under the new route, the train will stop at seven stations: Gandhigram, Dholka, Dhandhuka, Botad, Dhola, Dhasa, and Junagarh. At present, it stops at five stations along the route, namely Viramgam, Surendranagar, Wankaner, Rajkot, and Junagarh.
As per the timetable, Train No. 26901 will depart from Sabarmati at 6:00 am and arrive in Veraval at 12:50 pm. On the return journey, Train No. 26902 will leave Veraval at 3:50 pm and reach Sabarmati at 10:25 pm. The revised route is expected to improve connectivity for passengers travelling through the Botad region while slightly reducing the train journey time.