Mangaluru: The Bengaluru–Mangaluru Vande Bharat Express is scheduled to undertake another trial run on Thursday, September 10, primarily to assess and finalise its timings for the proposed regular service.
The train is expected to depart from Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru in the morning and reach Mangaluru Central Railway Station in the afternoon before returning to Bengaluru.
Second trial to assess timings
The latest trial run comes just days after the train operated a trial between Bengaluru and Mangaluru on September 5.
The earlier trial was conducted mainly to assess the proposed timetable and travel time between the two cities. The train reached Mangaluru Central and subsequently returned to Bengaluru.
However, the service encountered technical issues during the trial, resulting in the train reaching Mangaluru nearly two hours later than the scheduled time.
Railway officials have now planned another trial run on Thursday to further assess the timings and operational feasibility of the service.
The outcome of the trial is expected to help railway authorities determine a suitable timetable before the Vande Bharat service is introduced for regular passenger operations.
Passengers seek convenient schedule
The timing of the proposed service has generated considerable interest among railway users in Dakshina Kannada and Bengaluru.
During the September 5 trial, the train departed Bengaluru at around 6 am and reached Mangaluru only in the evening. Railway users have urged authorities not to adopt such a schedule for the regular service.
Passengers have instead suggested a timetable that would make the train more useful for both business and daily travellers between the two cities.
One proposal is for the train to depart from Mangaluru Central at around 5 or 6 am and reach Bengaluru before noon. It could then leave Bengaluru for Mangaluru at around 4 pm, allowing passengers to travel to Bengaluru in the morning and return to the coastal city in the evening.
Railway users believe that a practical schedule would be important in determining the usefulness and popularity of the premium train service.
Proposed extension to Madgaon
Meanwhile, reports indicate that efforts are underway to extend the proposed Bengaluru–Mangaluru Vande Bharat service further to Madgaon in Goa.
The reported proposal has, however, met with opposition from railway users in Dakshina Kannada.
Passengers in the district have urged railway authorities not to extend the service to Madgaon at the cost of a convenient Bengaluru–Mangaluru schedule.
They have maintained that the immediate priority should be to establish a practical and passenger-friendly service between Mangaluru and Bengaluru, considering the strong demand for connectivity between the two cities.
According to railway users, extending the service beyond Mangaluru could affect the timings and convenience of passengers travelling between the coastal city and Bengaluru.
Timetable remains key concern
The second trial run is therefore being closely watched by passengers and railway users, particularly in Dakshina Kannada.
While the Vande Bharat service is expected to provide faster and more comfortable connectivity between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, passengers have stressed that the timetable should be designed around actual travel requirements.
The September 10 trial will provide railway authorities with another opportunity to assess the journey time and operational schedule. The final timetable is expected to take into account factors including train operations, technical feasibility and passenger convenience.
For railway users in Mangaluru, the key expectation remains a schedule that enables early-morning travel to Bengaluru and a convenient return journey later in the day.
As the proposed service moves closer to regular operations, the timing and any decision regarding its reported extension to Madgaon are likely to remain important issues for passengers in Dakshina Kannada.