Railway Minister flags off Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Express
The new 16-coach overnight service will connect Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the inaugural run of the Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Express on Sunday, November 1. The service connects Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT) in Bengaluru with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai.
The 16-coach rake, comprising eight motor car and four trailer car coaches, departed from SMVT Bengaluru for its inaugural run. Regular services are scheduled to commence from November 2 in the Mumbai-Bengaluru direction and November 3 in the return direction.
Train No. 27652 will depart SMVT Bengaluru at 7.45 pm and reach CSMT Mumbai at 11.55 am the following day, operating six days a week except Mondays. In the return direction, Train No. 27651 will leave Mumbai at 8.10 pm and arrive in Bengaluru at noon the next day, operating six days a week except Tuesdays.
Scheduled stoppages include Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Solapur, Pune and Kalyan. The inaugural special train also stopped at Hindupur, Dharmavaram and Lonavala.
Vaishnaw said the train would connect Bengaluru, the IT and start-up capital, with Mumbai, the country's financial capital. He also announced plans for a Vande Bharat Sleeper service from Bengaluru towards the Hubballi region, extending to Pune and Mumbai.
The Minister stated that Vande Bharat services between Bengaluru and Mangaluru are expected to start within a few weeks, subject to electrification and testing. He noted that the Bengaluru-Chennai journey would take 73 minutes and Bengaluru-Hyderabad connectivity would take approximately two hours and 10 minutes.