Western Railway is set to introduce a direct Vande Bharat Express between Surat and Udaipur, establishing a new semi-high-speed rail connection between Gujarat and Rajasthan. Regular service of the Surat-Udaipur Vande Bharat Express will begin from October 4, 2026, while the return Udaipur-Surat service will commence a day earlier, on October 3.
The new service will operate six days a week, except Tuesday. Train No. 26903, Surat-Udaipur Vande Bharat Express, will depart from Surat at 6:10 am and reach Udaipur City at 1:40 pm on the same day. In the return direction, Train No. 26904 will leave Udaipur City at 3:35 pm and arrive in Surat at 11:00 pm. The scheduled journey time is around 7 hours and 30 minutes from Surat to Udaipur and about 7 hours and 25 minutes in the opposite direction.
Before the regular service begins, an inaugural special train will operate from Surat on October 2. The special service will run as Train No. 09103 and will be used for the launch of the new connection. Regular services will subsequently operate under train numbers 26903 and 26904.
The approximately 690-km route will have nine intermediate stoppages in both directions. These are Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Maninagar, Asarva, Himmatnagar, Shamlaji Road, Dungarpur and Zawar. The stoppages will provide direct access to the new service from key locations across Gujarat as well as towns in southern Rajasthan.
Train No. 26903 will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, while Train No. 26904 will follow the same six-day schedule. The Tuesday exclusion applies in both directions.
The Vande Bharat will be equipped with Executive Chair Car and AC Chair Car coaches. Reservations for the new service opened on October 1 through Passenger Reservation System counters and the IRCTC website. The new connection will provide a direct rail link between Surat and Udaipur, while also connecting passengers from major Gujarat locations such as Vadodara, Anand and Ahmedabad with the Rajasthan city. Railway officials have said the service is intended to provide faster and more convenient travel between the two states.
The launch will also lead to a change in the existing Vande Bharat network in the region. The Udaipur City-Asarva Vande Bharat Express, Train Nos. 26963/26964, will be discontinued from October 2, according to railway information. The introduction of the Surat-Udaipur service adds another Vande Bharat connection to the western railway network and creates a direct service originating from Surat for travel towards Rajasthan. The train will operate with an eight-coach Vande Bharat rake.