It’s official. Karnataka’s exclusive Vande Bharat Express, which will link Bengaluru and Dharwad, will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 27.
On Saturday, the South Western Railway (SWR) issued a notification on the inaugural run of the premium train that will run at a speed of 110 kmph for 350 km of the total distance of 489 km.
The Dharwad-KSR Bengaluru Inaugural Special (train number 07305) will be flagged off at Dharwad at 10:30 am on June 27 and depart for KSR Bengaluru five minutes later.
The inaugural train will consist of four motor cars, two trailing cars and as many driving trailer cars.
The timings of the inaugural run will be as follows: Hubballi (11 am/11.05 am), Haveri (12.05 pm/12.06 pm), Ranebennur (12.26 pm/12.27 pm), Harihar (12.44 pm/12.45 pm), Davangere (12.58 pm/1 pm), Chikjajur (1.29 pm/1.30 pm), Birur (2.11 pm/2.12 pm), Arsikere (2.43 pm/2.44 pm), Tiptur (3.03 pm/3.04 pm), Ammasandra (3.23 pm/3.24 pm), Tumakuru (3.51 pm/3.52 pm), Dodbele (4.12 pm/4.13 pm), Chikkabanavar (4.30 pm/4.31 pm), Yeshwantpur (4.38 pm/4.40 pm) and KSR Bengaluru (7.05 pm).
While there’s no official confirmation about when the regular service will start, sources said it was likely to happen on June 28.
As per the SWR proposal to the Railway Board, the train will have a travel time of 6 hours and 25 minutes, about 30 minutes shorter than previously known.
Kusuma Hariprasad, additional divisional railway manager (administration), Bengaluru, confirmed the proposed schedule, but said the Railway Board hadn’t approved it yet.
Details of the fare structure were also awaited, she added.
The train will stop only at Yeshwantpur, Davangere and Hubballi once it starts regular operations six days a week (no service on Tuesdays).
The train will likely be numbered 20661 (KSR Bengaluru-Dharwad) and 20662 (Dharwad-KSR Bengaluru).
Fare
It will have seven chair cars in a 3+2 configuration and one executive car in a 2+2 configuration. The fare will be upwards of Rs 1,000 per person.
The train will be maintained at KSR Bengaluru (city) railway station.
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