Railway zones propose Bengaluru-Goa Vande Bharat

BENGALURU: Will Vande Bharat ride between Bengaluru and Goa be a possibility? The South Western Railway (SWR), Southern Railway and the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) approached the Railway Board earlier this month with a proposal for such a train between Yeswanthpur and Madgaon.

According to the proposal accessed by TOI, the train would run six days a week, departing Yeswantpur at 6:05am. It would run for more than 12 hours before reaching Madgaon in Goa by 7:15pm.





Between the stations, there would be four stoppages — Hassan, Sakleshpur, Subrahmanya Road and Padil.

For comparison, Yeswanthpur-Vasco da Gama Express takes nearly 15 hours to cover 700km.

While a detailed tentative timetable was proposed, it could be subject to changes, and the Railway Board has asked the zones to consider starting the train after 6:30am.

Despite KSR Bengaluru being the most preferred station in the city, SWR pointed out a lack of maintenance slots there.

Due to the long distance between the terminal stations, the service will require two Vande Bharat rakes to run simultaneously.

However, the Railway Board expects the train to run at an average speed of less than 50 kmph. In the ghat sections, it could become further limited to 30 kmph. For a train capable of cruising above 160 kmph, the journey between Bengaluru and Goa would still be slow.

"The Railway Board is yet to make a final decision on the stoppages and has not issued a coaching notification. SWR submitted its inputs and is awaiting a decision," SWR chief PRO Manjunath Kanamadi, told TOI.