Bengaluru: The Vande Bharat train service on the Coimbatore-Bengaluru route underwent a trial run on Wednesday morning, covering the distance in 5 hours and 38 minutes.
B Guganesan, the Chief Public Relations Officer, Southern Railway, said that the train began its journey at Coimbatore Junction at 5 am and stopped at five stations en route - Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri and Hosur - before reaching Bengaluru Cantonment railway station by 10.38 am.
“This is the second exclusive train service between Bengaluru and Coimbatore after the Uday Express,” he said, adding that the expected duration of the Vande Bharat train once the actual services begin on the route will be about 6 hours and 30 minutes, about 20-30 minutes faster than the trains currently running on the route.
“We are planning to increase the speed of the train between Salem and Coimbatore to about 130 kmph in 2024. This might bring down the duration even further,” he said.
The train left the Cantonment station at 1.40 pm and reached Coimbatore Junction by 7.42 pm, completing the journey in a little over 6 hours.
Guganesan added that the time table for the regular service is being prepared and the fare structure is under review.
Published 28 December 2023, 00:06 IST