Vande Bharat sleeper train between Bengaluru & Mumbai on MP’s wishlist

Bengaluru: There is finally some progress on the introduction of a faster train between Bengaluru and Mumbai. 

Bangalore Central MP, PC Mohan, raised the matter during a study visit of the South Western Railway's (SWR) standing committee here on December 2. He is pushing for a Vande Bharat sleeper train with SMVT Bengaluru as the origin/terminating station. 

"Existing trains take 24-30 hours, while buses 16-18 hours. We need a train that's as fast as a bus," Mohan told DH. 

SWR General Manager Arvind Srivastava said in a written response to Mohan that the matter fell under the Railway Board's purview. 

The Bengaluru-Mumbai train route is served by over a dozen trains, but there is only one dedicated train. The Udyan Express, which connects KSR Bengaluru and CSMT Mumbai, covers the distance (1,136 km) in 23-24 hours via Kalaburagi. 

Chalukya Express, which previously connected Yeshwantpur and Dadar, has been extended to Tirunelveli and Puducherry (three days each per week). It travels via Hubballi and takes about 24 hours. 

Responding to Mohan's queries, the SWR said Bengaluru Cantonment-Whitefield (16 km) would be quadrupled by June 2025, while Yeshwantpur-Baiyappanahalli-Channasandra (21.7 km), and Baiyappanahalli-Hosur (48 km) would be doubled by August 2025. 

According to the top SWR official, introducing MEMU trains between Kengeri and Whitefield is not operationally feasible due to path and platform constrains at KSR Bengaluru. The Nayandahalli-KSR Bengaluru section has a steep up-gradient of 1 in 70 and takes 15-20 minutes of running time. Only three platforms at KSR Bengaluru are connected to Bengaluru Cantonment/Whitefield for trains from Kengeri. Introducing MEMU trains will affect long-distance trains, too, he added. 

Airport trains

On the question of running more trains from Whitefield to the Kempegowda International Airport (Halt) station, Srivastava said there were six trains (five MEMU and one DEMU) from the city to the airport, but their occupancy was just 1%. There is also an acute shortage of MEMU trains. The situation can improve only when the Railway Board supplies the SWR 76 rakes of 16 coaches each in the next five years. 

Circular rail DPR by Feb

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Oddarahalli-Devanahalli section (Rs 1638.24 crore) of the Bengaluru circular rail project was submitted to the Railway Board on September 23. The survey on the remaining sections (Devanahalli-Malur-Heelalige-Hejjala-Solur-Nidavanda-Oddarahalli) is underway. The complete DPR for the circular railway will be submitted in February 2025, Srivastava said. 

Mohan expressed hope that the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project's Parijata Line (Whitefield-Kengeri, 35 km) will be not be scrapped. The Centre-approved DPR for the 149.348-km BSRP remains intact, he added.