LUCKNOW, Dec. 9 -- The Lucknow-Saharanpur Vande Bharat Express will finally begin regular operations from December 9, almost a month after it was virtually flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8. Despite the formal launch last month, the train could not be introduced immediately because of route synchronisation issues and timetable conflicts, senior railway officials said. Initially, the Railways had planned a morning departure from Lucknow Junction. However, the proposed schedule clashed with the timings of the Dehradun Vande Bharat, and passenger demand from Saharanpur for an early-morning service further complicated the timetable. After several rounds of discussions at the Railway Board level, the train's operational base was shifted to Gomtinagar Terminal with an afternoon departure. For short-distance travellers, the Lucknow-Sitapur fare has been fixed at Rs.495 for Chair Car and Rs.930 for Executive Class, with the 80-km journey completed in just 1 hour 5 minutes. On the full route, the Gomtinagar-Saharanpur Vande Bharat (26504) is priced at Rs.1,460 for Chair Car and Rs.2,685 for Executive Class. For December 9, 10 and 11, Chair Car has 362, 397 and 394 seats available respectively, while Executive Class shows 33-34 seats. The return service (26503) will leave Saharanpur at 5:05 am and reach Gomtinagar at 2:05 pm after an 8-hour, 55-minute journey....