Patrons and associations in coastal Karnataka hope that the timings of the runtime trial of Vande Bharat Express between Bengaluru and Mangaluru conducted by the South Western Railway, leaving Bengaluru in the morning and returning at night, may not be an indicator of the regular service.

The proposed service to Bengaluru should start from Mangaluru in the morning and return by night to help hundreds of people who have official and business work in the State capital, said Pashchima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath. The service would be of little use to coastal people if it reaches Bengaluru close to midnight, he said.

Giving the example of the Mangaluru Central-Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat Express, Mr. Kamath said the service has been overwhelmingly popular because it leaves Mangaluru in the morning and returns at night. If the Mangaluru-Bengaluru service has to be viable, it should have a morning start. Starting at around 6 a.m. would be ideal as the schedule would not affect other trains, he said.

Travel for work

Echoing similar views, Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president P.B. Ahmed Mudassar said: “Ideally, the train should depart from Mangaluru early in the morning, enabling people travelling to Bengaluru for work to complete their business by the afternoon and return on a night train. This would ensure that they do not lose an entire working day.”

He further said: “Since the primary demand is for travel from Mangaluru to Bengaluru for business and official purposes, the schedule should prioritise this requirement. For people travelling from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, the main focus is work. From tourist and travel perspective, people travelling to Mangaluru can reach here any time.”

Six hours target

The successful runtime trial of the Vande Bharat Express rake on Thursday saw the service covering Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction in 7.05 hours and Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur in 6.49 hours.

Sources in the SWR told The Hindu that the target was to complete the run, in both directions, within six hours. The same could be achieved by speeding up the train between Yeshwantpur and Hassan where the authorised sectional speed has been 110 kmph. Similarly, the train could further be speeded up between Subrahmanya Road and Mangaluru Junction, sources added.