It will cover the distance in around 16 hours, significantly reducing travel time between the two cities. The Vande Bharat sleeper train between Bengaluru and Mumbai is set to become the fastest land transport link connecting India’s tech and financial capitals. It will be India’s second Vande Bharat sleeper service, after the one connecting Kolkata and Guwahati.
Despite the planned Sunday ceremony, the railways had not officially announced the flag-off as of Thursday evening.
Commercial services could begin by Monday, according to the current plan. However, the final decision on the commencement of regular operations is still pending approval.
Here’s how India’s second Vande Bharat sleeper will connect Bengaluru and Mumbai in around 16 hours, cutting travel time by at least 4 hours with 8 stoppages
The train will operate under numbers 27652 and 27651 as the SMVT Bengaluru-Mumbai CSMT Vande Bharat Sleeper Express. The overnight semi-high-speed train will cover 1,118 km in one direction. It will depart from Bengaluru six days a week at around 7.45pm and reach Mumbai around midday the following day. Currently, no train connects Bengaluru and Mumbai in less than 20 hours.
The flag-off ceremony has been scheduled for Sunday at noon and will follow a special timetable and stoppages, according to sources in South Western Railway (SWR). Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is expected to flag off the train in person, along with other cabinet ministers, including HD Kumaraswamy and Pralhad Joshi, a senior railway official told TOI. The railway board had initially planned to operate the service from KSR Bengaluru railway station at Majestic. However, the originating station has now been shifted to Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT) in Byappanahalli. The train will have eight stoppages between Bengaluru and Mumbai. These include Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Solapur, Pune and Kalyan. It will halt at each station for no more than five minutes, helping maintain the scheduled journey time. Yadgir was not included in the initial list of stoppages. However, the railway authorities later approved a halt at the station following persistent demands from rail passenger forums. The inclusion is expected to benefit passengers travelling from the region and improve connectivity.
