The Indian Railways will soon start the Vande Bharat train between Mangalore and Bengaluru. With this, Karnataka will get its 22nd Vande Bharat train, which will provide greater speed, comfort and connectivity.

Indian Railways is all set to launch a new Vande Bharat Express on the Bengaluru-Mangalore route. This will provide fast travel, modern features and a big boost to Karnataka’s rail infrastructure.Currently, Goa-Mangalore Central Vande Bharat Express, Mangalore Central-Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat Express train is operating to Mangalore. In the meantime, Bangalore-Mangalore Semi High Speed ​​Vande Bharat Express will be started. This route will come under the South Western Railway (SWR), which will further strengthen regional connectivity in Karnataka and boost the economy of the state.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav made the major announcement at a press conference in Bengaluru, saying that the new service will start soon after the electrification works are completed and the necessary safety certifications are obtained. He also said that Karnataka is witnessing major railway infrastructure upgrades. A record ₹7,748 crore has been allocated for this sector in the budget.

Currently, there are 22 Vande Bharat trains operating in Karnataka, operating in 11 pairs on different routes. Out of these, 14 trains start and end in Bengaluru. With this, Bengaluru is a major railway-centric city.The Bengaluru-Mangalore Vande Bharat will significantly reduce the travel time between the two cities. It will also provide a safer and more comfortable journey by increasing the travel speed.

The train will have advanced safety and passenger-friendly features including KAVACH automatic train protection system, semi-permanent jerk-free couplers, centrally controlled automatic doors, emergency warning systems with talk-back units. It will also have an aerosol-based fire control system, a speed of 160 kmph. Driver-guard communication with voice recording, crash-hard memory, CCTV cameras in all coaches, UV-C based air disinfection system, improved ride comfort and special toilets for differently-abled passengers. The coaches will also have a real-time condition monitoring system for better management.

Currently, it takes 8-10 hours to travel from Bangalore to Mangalore by road on this route, but if the Vande Bharat train starts, the travel time will be reduced to 5 hours. The Bangalore-Mangalore route will be very useful for coastal tourism, business and student travel.