Bengaluru-Hyderabad Vande Bharat likely in August

Karnataka will likely get its third Vande Bharat Express this month as the South Central Railway (SCR) prepares to run the premium train on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad route.

The train will link Yeshwantpur with Kacheguda (610 km) in about seven hours, two hours faster than the current fastest train (Duronto Express).

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The train will be operated by the Telangana-headquartered SCR, which has received an eight-coach Vande Bharat trainset for a trial run.

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“We have been conducting a trial run between Kacheguda and Dhone for the last two days. We will start the train as soon as we get a full-fledged trainset,” an SCR official told DH.

The official added that a 16-coach rake would be used for commercial operations, as the railways hopes to link the two major tech hubs with a comfortable and fast train service.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off the train.

According to the official, key details such as launch date, fare structure, stoppages and travel time will be determined only after the Railway Board gives approval.

While a senior official in the South Western Railway’s Bengaluru railway division said no communication had been received from the Railway Board, sources privy to discussions said the train would most likely be launched in August.

There is, however, no definitive word on the fare structure.

The train is unlikely to stop at any other stations within Karnataka. While train activists want the train to run via Raichur, sources said the probable stoppages would be Dharmavaram, Dhone, Kurnool City, Gadwal Junction, Mahbubnagar and Shadnagar.

The stoppage at Shadnagar is aimed at providing connectivity to Hyderabad’s international airport, the official added.

The train’s primary maintenance will take place in Kacheguda, he said.

This will be the third Vande Bharat Express for both Karnataka and Telangana. Karnataka’s first two Vande Bharat trains link Mysuru with Chennai via Bengaluru, and Bengaluru with Dharwad. Telangana’s first two Vande Bharat trains connect Secunderabad with Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.