Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday flagged off the inaugural run of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express connecting Bengaluru and Mumbai, strengthening overnight rail connectivity between the two metropolitan cities, PTI reported. The flag-off from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT) in Bengaluru coincided with Kannada Rajyotsava.
Source: PTI via The Hindu BusinessLine
The inaugural special train, a 16-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper rake, departed Bengaluru on Sunday and is scheduled to reach Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai at 6.15 am on Monday. Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and H. D. Kumaraswamy, Ministers of State V. Somanna and Shobha Karandlaje, and MPs Tejasvi Surya, P. C. Mohan and C. N. Manjunath were present at the ceremony, IANS reported.
Source: IANS via AsiaPost
"On the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava, the Vande Bharat Sleeper service between Bengaluru and Mumbai is being launched. This is a very good train and will connect the technological capital Bengaluru with the financial capital Mumbai. This will be the third Vande Bharat service," Vaishnaw told the media after the flag-off.
Source: IANS via AsiaPost
The flag-off confirms the service Indian Railways first announced in October, when the route was reported with provisional timings that awaited official confirmation. The confirmed timetable, train numbers and start dates for regular services have now been issued by South Western Railway.
For Maharashtra passengers, the regular service will halt at Solapur, Pune and Kalyan on its way to CSMT, with other scheduled stoppages at Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Yadgir and Kalaburagi, South Western Railway said. The train covers the 1,118 km between the two cities in approximately 16 hours.
South Western Railway said regular services will commence from November 2 in the Mumbai–Bengaluru direction and from November 3 in the return direction. Train No. 27652 will leave SMVT Bengaluru at 7.45 pm and reach CSMT Mumbai at 11.55 am the next day, running six days a week except Mondays. Train No. 27651 will depart CSMT Mumbai at 8.10 pm and arrive at Bengaluru at noon the next day, running six days a week except Tuesdays.
Source: PTI via The Hindu BusinessLine
The 16-coach train can carry 823 passengers — 611 in 11 AC three-tier coaches, 188 in four AC two-tier coaches and 24 in one first AC coach — and will be operated and maintained by South Western Railway. The inaugural special had additional halts at Hindupur, Dharmavaram and Lonavala beyond the regular stoppages.