Bengaluru
oi-Madhuri Adnal
The Vande Bharat Express is set to undergo a timing trial on the Bengaluru Mangaluru route on Saturday, September 5, after successfully completing a trial run through the challenging Sakleshpur Subrahmanya Road ghat section last month.
The Railway Ministry has ordered the latest trial to assess the train’s overall running time between Yesvantpur and Mangaluru Central, including its performance through the ghat section.
South Western Railway will conduct a timing trial for the Vande Bharat Express on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route on September 5 using a 16-coach rake to assess the 363 km journey time, including through the challenging ghat section.
For the trial, South Western Railway (SWR) will use a 16-coach Vande Bharat rake fitted with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB).
According to a circular issued by SWR headquarters on Thursday, the train will leave Yesvantpur at 6.05 am and reach Mangaluru Central at 2.25 pm. The 363-km journey is currently proposed to take eight hours and 20 minutes.
On the way to Mangaluru, the train will stop at three stations: Hassan, Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road.
It will reach Hassan at 9 am and depart at 9.05 am. At Sakleshpur, the halt is scheduled from 9.55 am to 10 am, while at Subrahmanya Road, the train will stop from 12.30 pm to 12.35 pm before continuing to Mangaluru Central.
The return journey will begin from Mangaluru Central at 3 pm, with the train scheduled to reach Yesvantpur at 11 pm.
On the return trip, the Vande Bharat will stop at Subrahmanya Road from 4.30 pm to 4.35 pm, Sakleshpur from 6.30 pm to 6.35 pm, and Hassan from 7.20 pm to 7.25 pm.
The September 5 trial follows the successful ghat section trial conducted in the second week of August. That test was carried out with a 20-coach Vande Bharat rake equipped with Automatic Emergency Braking.
The latest trial will use a shorter 16-coach rake and will focus on establishing the timings for the proposed Bengaluru Mangaluru service.
SWR officials have been asked to record the train’s arrival and departure timings, stoppage duration, interchange timings and running time through the ghat section.
The railway zone has also pointed out that the proposed running time is “too high” and has asked officials to make efforts to bring it down as much as possible.
This means the eight-hour-20-minute journey currently proposed for the 363-km route is not necessarily the final travel time. The timing trial will help determine whether the journey can be completed faster, particularly through the ghat section.
Bengaluru Mangaluru Vande Bharat Stops
The trial schedule includes three intermediate stops between Yesvantpur and Mangaluru Central:
Hassan
Sakleshpur
Subrahmanya Road
With Yesvantpur as the originating station and Mangaluru Central as the destination, the trial run covers five stations in total.
The September 5 trial is expected to give SWR a clearer picture of the timings that could eventually be considered for the Bengaluru Mangaluru Vande Bharat service.
