Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Feb 9: Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced that the Vande Bharat train service between Mangaluru and Bengaluru will begin shortly.

Speaking to reporters at the BJP office in Bengaluru, Vaishnaw said that the electrification work on the Hassan–Mangaluru railway route has been completed and that testing and safety certification processes are currently underway. Once these procedures are completed, the schedule will be finalised and the Vande Bharat service will be extended up to Karwar in coastal Karnataka, he added.

He also informed that a premium train service between Bengaluru and Mumbai will be launched soon, and that a request related to the Pune–Bengaluru railway corridor will be considered.

The minister said two Vande Bharat trains will be allocated to the coastal region — one operating from the coast towards Bengaluru and the other from Bengaluru towards the coast. At present, 12 pairs of Vande Bharat trains are already operational in Karnataka. He assured that efforts will be made to provide Vande Bharat services across the entire state in the future.

Speaking about high-speed rail projects, Vaishnaw stated that travel time between Bengaluru and Chennai will be reduced to 73 minutes, while the journey between Bengaluru and Hyderabad will take just two hours. He also said the government is moving ahead with the high-speed Diamond Corridor project to connect cities in South India.

In addition, he noted that work on all four corridors of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project has gained momentum. The design and tendering processes have been completed, and since more than half of the routes are elevated, special design requirements are being adopted, he explained.