Do Vande Bharat Trains Delay Other Trains? The Real Story

Vande Bharat Express, India’s fast, modern train with AC chairs, Wi-Fi and meals, is loved by many. But a common complaint is growing louder: “My train was stopped for 30-60 minutes just to let a Vande Bharat pass!” Is this true? Yes, it happens. But it’s not the whole truth.

Indian Railways has an official priority list for trains. Vande Bharat sits near the top – higher than Rajdhani, Shatabdi and most superfast trains. When two trains are on the same track and one has to wait, the lower-priority train is stopped at a station or signal so the Vande Bharat can speed past. Railway staff call this “giving path” or “overtaking”. It is a deliberate rule, not an accident.

Passengers feel it the most on busy routes. On the Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, or Chennai-Bengaluru lines, people travelling in Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi or even Duronto often see their train parked outside a station while a blue-and-white Vande Bharat whistles by. On social media, photos and videos of angry passengers waiting at red signals “only for VB” go viral almost every week.

However, Vande Bharat is not the only villain. Indian Railways is running more trains than the tracks can handle. Many important sections still have just one or two lines. Goods trains, local passenger trains and mail-express trains already fight for space. Adding 100+ Vande Bharat services in the last three years has made the crowding worse.

Railway officials explain it simply: “We want at least a few trains to run on time and give a world-class experience. Vande Bharat is that train.” They add extra minutes (called “padding”) in the timetable of normal trains so that small delays don’t turn into big ones. That is why your train may leave 10-15 minutes late even before the journey starts.

The bigger problem is old infrastructure. Until new dedicated lines, more double/triple tracks and modern signalling arrive, someone has to wait when tracks are full. Right now, the Railways has decided that “someone” will usually be the regular passenger, not the Vande Bharat traveller.

So the answer is clear: Yes, Vande Bharat gets special preference and this does delay other trains, sometimes by an hour or more. But the root cause is not just one train – it is too many trains sharing too few tracks. Until India builds more railway lines, priority for the fast and fancy will always mean pain for the rest.