India to launch its first mini Vande Bharat train on Bengaluru-Dharwad railway route

Bengaluru, India (Urban Transport News): The Ministry of Railways (Govt. of India) is all set to launch first mini Vande Bharat Express train on Bengaluru-Dharwad route of Indian railways network. Trial run of the train on this route will start today by the Southern Western Railway (SWR) of Indian Railways.

"It is decided to conduct a trial run of Vande Bharat Express rake between Bengaluru and Dharwad on 19th June 2023 with a composition of eight coaches. The trial run will commence from KSR Bengaluru upto Dharwad and then return to KSR Bengaluru", said the statement issued by SWR.

"The purpose of the trial run was to assess various operational and technical parameters. According to him, a large portion of the Bengaluru-Hubballi route has been made fit for trains to run at speeds of 110 kmph. This was achieved by straightening curves and removing PSRs (Permanent Speed Restrictions)," said Aneesh Hegde, Chief Public Relations Officer, South Western Railway (SWR).

"The eight-coach mini Vande Bharat trainset will depart from KSR Bengaluru at 5.45 am and reach Dharwad at 12.40 pm before embarking on its return journey. While going to Dharwad, the train will stop at Yeshwantpur (5.55 am/5.57 am), Davangere (9.58 am/10 am) and Hubballi (12.10 pm/12.15 pm). On the way back, it will stop at Hubballi (1.35 pm/1.40 pm), Davangere (3.48 pm/3.50 pm) and Yeshwantpur (7.45 pm/7.47 pm) to chug into KSR Bengaluru at 8.10 pm," he said.

The train will follow the same timings when it begins commercial operations, most likely on 28th June 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag it off via video conference on 26th June 2023. 

The Indian Railways will soon reveal the fares of this first train of Karnataka which will connect Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru and runs mostly in Tamil Nadu.

The mini Vande Bharat Express Train is manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.

The indigenously manufactured mini Vande Bharat trains will be smaller in size, with eight coaches, compared to 16 coaches of the Vande Bharat Express trains. The trains will feature air-conditioned coaches, automatic doors, CCTV facility, passenger information and public address system along with additional safety features.

To provide faster connectivity between small towns, the Ministry of Railways has decided to manufacture and launch a total of 64 eight-coach mini Vande Bharat trains on various routes of Indian Railways.