BENGALURU: The first Vande Bharat Express to Kacheguda (in Hyderabad) from Bengaluru departed with nearly 50 railway officials on board from Platform 4 of Yesvantpur railway station at 2.45 pm. This becomes the third Vande Bharat to run in Karnataka, the other two being the Bengaluru-Dharwad and the Mysuru to Chennai (via Bengaluru) trains.
The inaugural train will be flagged off by Prime Minister Modi virtually on September 24 around 1 pm along with eight other Vande Bharat trains. “The notification on the date for commercial operations as well as the fare are yet to be received from the Railway Board. The fares are likely to be on par with the Shatabdi fares,” said Divisional Railway Manager, Yogesh Mohan.
Krishna Chaitanya, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Bengaluru Division told TNIE, “The train from Bengaluru will pass via Dharmavaram, Anantpur, Kurnool, Mehboob Nagar before it terminates at Kacheguda.”
The incoming Vande Bharat from Kacheguda took 7 hrs and 45 minutes to complete its 600-plus km in place of the scheduled 8-and-a-half hours. The one that left from Bengaluru is likely to run on similar timings.
“The train was tested on all parameters, including the braking system and the speed. It is expected to reach Kacheguda by 11 pm,” Chaitanya said.
Kusuma Hariprasad, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, said it will have 52 executive chair car seats and 560 chair car seats similar to other Vande Bharat trains. “The exact fare and launch time are yet to be confirmed.
Public Relations Officer K R Thrinethra said, “The Vande Bharat can run at a maximum speed of up to 110 kmph. The incoming train from Kacheguda ran at an average speed of 71 kmph. It was a smooth run.”
There is a huge demand from the public to extend the existing Vande Bharat to Dharwad upto Belagavi, a source said. “No decision has been taken on it yet,” he added.