Representative image of Vande Bharat train.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the inaugural special Vande Bharat Express connecting Bengaluru and Kochi via video conference on November 8.
The inaugural special train number 06652 will leave Ernakulam Junction at 8 am and arrive at KSR Bengaluru at 5.50 pm. It will have eight coaches.
However, the regular service (26651/26652) will start on November 11, according to railways.
According to a senior official in the know, certain operational constraints in Bengaluru are being assessed before the regular service begins.
The South Western Railway (SWR) has released the tentative timetable of the regular service, which will start from KSR Bengaluru at 5.10 am and reach Ernakulam Junction at 1.50 pm. The return service will leave Ernakulam at 2.20 pm and arrive in Bengaluru at 11 pm. The stoppages include KR Puram, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Palakkad and Thrissur.
The final schedule will be released by the Railway Board.
This will be the 12th Vande Bharat for Karnataka and the eighth for Bengaluru. This will also be the third Vande Bharat for Kerala and the first one linking the state with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The service is expected to benefit IT professionals, businessmen and students among others, according to the Southern Railway.
The route will promote greater economic activity and tourism between Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, supporting regional growth and collaboration, it added.