The Railway Ministry has notified a new Bengaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat service via Mangaluru, with the train expected to be flagged off in the third week of November and scheduled to cover the journey in about 13 hours.
The service, numbered 26655/26656, will originate from Yeshwantpur and run six days a week. The exact launch date has not yet been finalised, railway officials told the Times of India. The train will depart Yeshwantpur at 7.35am, except on Wednesdays, and reach Madgaon in Goa after travelling through the coastal route.
In the return direction, the train will leave Madgaon at 8.20am and arrive at Yeshwantpur at 9.15pm. It will not operate from Madgaon on Thursdays. The service will have 12 stoppages, covering key passenger and tourism locations in southern Karnataka and coastal Karnataka before reaching Goa.
The scheduled stops are Shravanabelagola, Hassan, Sakaleshpura, Subrahmanya Road, Kabaka Puttur, Mangaluru Junction, Udupi, Kundapura, Mookambika Road Byndoor, Murdeshwar, Gokarna Road and Karwar.
The new train will replace the existing Madgaon-Mangaluru Vande Bharat service, according to the report. IRCTC has stopped ticket reservations for that service from November 29, indicating the transition to the new operating pattern. The new train will extend the Vande Bharat connection south-eastwards to Bengaluru while retaining access to the Konkan coastal corridor.
The Bengaluru-Mangaluru section is one of Karnataka’s high-footfall rail corridors. The new service is expected to reach Mangaluru in less than eight hours, making it the fastest rail link between the two cities, according to the report. That travel time will nevertheless be shaped by operational restrictions on the ghat section between Sakaleshpura and Subrahmanya Road.
The 55-kilometre stretch is electrified, but safety restrictions will limit the train’s speed to 30kmph along the section. The restriction applies despite the train’s capacity to operate at higher speeds. The ghat section is therefore likely to remain the principal operational constraint on the Bengaluru-coastal Karnataka journey.
The final stopping pattern also reflects passenger demand. South Western Railway had not initially planned a stop at Kabaka Puttur during trials, but the station was later approved following what the report described as persistent demand from passengers.
The notified schedule now awaits the announcement of the exact flag-off date. Until then, passengers will have to rely on the Railway Ministry and railway authorities for the final timetable and reservation details.
