CHENNAI: To improve last-minute travel access, the Southern Railway has launched a pilot initiative that enables passengers to book vacant seats on Vande Bharat Express trains from mid-route stations, even after the train departs its originating station. This upgrade has come into effect from July 17.

Until now, once a Vande Bharat Express left its source station, passengers at mid-route stations could not make current bookings.

The new system now allows passengers to reserve tickets up to 15 minutes before the scheduled departure from their boarding station, provided seats are available.

The facility will be available on eight Vande Bharat trains originating from the Southern Railway zone. These include the Dr MGR Chennai Central–Vijayawada, Mangaluru Central–Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thiruvananthapuram Central–Mangaluru Central, Chennai Egmore–Nagercoil, Nagercoil–Chennai Egmore, Coimbatore–Bengaluru Cantonment, Mangaluru Central–Madgaon, and Madurai–Bengaluru Cantonment Vande Bharat Express trains.