Here's how much a ticket from Delhi to Varanasi will cost in Vande Bharat Express

Vande Bharat Express or Train 18’s air-conditioned chair car ticket would cost Rs 1,850 and the executive class fare will be Rs 3,520 for a Delhi to Varanasi trip, including the catering service charges, officials told PTI on Monday.

On its return journey, the chair car ticket will cost Rs 1,795 and the executive car ticket will be priced at Rs 3,470, they said.

While the chair car fares are 1.5 times the price of Shatabdi trains running the same distance, the executive class fares are 1.4 times of first-class air-conditioned seating in the premium train, the official sources said.

The semi-high speed train is scheduled to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15.

The train has two classes of tickets — executive class and chair car — and will have differently priced meals, the sources said.

Passengers Cannot 'opt Out' Meals On Board Vande Bharat Express

While passengers travelling from New Delhi to Varanasi in the executive class will be charged Rs 399 for morning tea, breakfast and lunch, travellers in the chair car will need to pay Rs 344 for the same.

Those travelling from New Delhi to Kanpur and Prayagraj will have to pay Rs 155 and Rs 122 for executive class and chair car, respectively.

From Varanasi to New Delhi, the passengers will be charged Rs 349 and Rs 288 in the executive class and chair, respectively.

Meals on board the soon-to-be-launched Vande Bharat Express or Train 18 will not be optional for passengers unlike in premium trains such as Shatabdi, Rajdhani and Duronto express, where travellers can choose not to take catering services, officials said.

However, passengers travelling the last leg on the route of the semi-high speed train -- Allahabad to Varanasi -- will have the choice of opting out of the meals provided by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), in advance while booking their tickets, the sources told PTI. 

The train will cover the 755-km distance in eight hours with stoppages at Kanpur and Prayagraj. It will be the fastest train on the route. The current fastest train takes around 11-and-a-half-hours to complete the journey