Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express regular services from November 11; huge rush for tickets

Hours after the flag off, people who logged in to the ICRTC portal were in for a rude shock as tickets for train number 26652 were almost sold out.

Hours after the Ernakulam-KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express Train had been been flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tickets were sold like hot cakes.

It may be recalled that PM Modi had flagged off the new Vande Bharat virtually from Varanasi on Saturday (November 8).

But barely hours after the flag off, people who logged in to the ICRTC portal were in for a rude shock as train number 26652 was almost full, with the Executive Chair Car waitlisted for the next 10 days.

Meanwhile, AC Chair Car tickets have also been sold out for November 11 (the first day of the commercial run) and November 16.

With the holidays and year-ender approaching, the demand for tickets is expected to be higher in the coming days.

"I logged into the portal on Friday night. It wasn't active. But minutes after the flag off, there were no tickets available," said a regular user of IRCTC portal, who also added that tickets post-December 20 were not available.

As per revised Railway guidelines, tickets could be booked only up to 60 days in advance.

Starting from November 11, the train will run six days a week (except Wednesday). It will start from KSR Bengaluru at 5.10 am will reach Ernakulam Junction at 1.50pm.

The return train will leave from Ernakulam at 2.20 pm and will reach Bengaluru at 11 pm, as per the Southern Railways guide.

The stoppages include KR Puram, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Palakkad and Thrissur. The train will cover the 638kms distance in eight hours and 40 minutes, about 80 minutes faster than the current quickest service on the route. 

The train will not operate on Wednesdays, and its primary maintenance will be handled by the South Western Railway (SWR) at KSR Bengaluru. 

The regular service will have eight coaches (four motor cars, one executive class coach, one trailer coach and two driving trailer coaches).

The Chair Car fare is Rs 1,095 while an Executive Class Seat will cost Rs 2,289, exclusive of reservation fees, supplementary and catering charges, and GST. 

Fares for the Ernakulam Junction-KSR Bengaluru direction will be higher if passengers opt for onboard catering, as lunch or dinner will be served on this leg. 

This is the 12th Vande Bharat for Karnataka and the eighth for Bengaluru. This is also third Vande Bharat for Kerala and the first one linking the state with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. 

(with DHNS inputs)