A Vande Bharat Express train on the Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru route, at the KSR station.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Train travel between Bengaluru and Chennai is set to become faster as the railways plans to increase the speed of premium and superfast trains on the route.
On Thursday, the South Western Railway (SWR) conducted a speed trial on the 144-km section between KSR Bengaluru and Jolarpettai in Tamil Nadu. During the trial, the train reached a maximum speed of 144 kmph.
The train departed from KSR Bengaluru at 8.05 am and reached Jolarpettai at 9.28 am. In the return direction, it left Jolarpettai at 2.30 pm and arrived at KSR Bengaluru at 4.03 pm, according to an official in the Bengaluru railway division.
"The speed trial was aimed at increasing the sectional speed (between KSR Bengaluru and Jolarpettai) to 130 kmph. After the results come, we will take a call on increasing the speed of important trains," Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager Yogesh Mohan told DH.
Among the trains to benefit are the Vande Bharat, Shatabdi and those with LHB coaches, Mohan added.
The 359-km KSR Bengaluru-Chennai Central route has two Vande Bharats and two Shatabdis. The afternoon Vande Bharat (train number 20608) takes 4 hours and 25 minutes. The morning one (20663) takes 4 hours and 35 minutes.
With the increase in sectional speed, both Vande Bharats could complete the journey in less than 4 hours.
The morning Shatabdi (12028) takes five hours, while the evening one (12008) takes five hours and 10 minutes. Each train could take 30 minutes less.
Mohan declined to quantify the potential changes.
While the Jolarpettai-Chennai Central section (215 km) already allows a top speed of 130 kmph, the maximum speed in the KSR Bengaluru-Jolarpettai section is restricted to 110 kmph due to the presence of curves and gradients. The SWR took up works to flatten the curves and gradients to increase the sectional speed to 130 kmph and conduct the speed trial.