Railways likely to operate a Vande Bharat Express special service in the Bengaluru-Ernakulam corridor during weekends for Deepavali season

According to reports, the Railways plan to use a spare rake to run a special Vande Bharat Express service along the Bengaluru-Ernakulam corridor on weekends to meet the increased demand from commuters during the upcoming Deepavali season. This is an expansion of the Vande Bharat special train, which is probably going to run over the weekend in the Chennai-Bengaluru and Bengaluru-Chennai sectors. On Saturday and Sunday, it will run on the Bengaluru-Ernakulam corridor and back, returning to Chennai to serve as a spare train for regular services. According to railway authorities, the formal go-ahead for the service has not yet been given.

Railway Minister Aswini Vaishnaw had stated that a Vande Bharat train would be introduced in the Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru sector as soon as the sleeper format of the train was ready by year-end or in early 2024, shortly after the launch of Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod stretch in April.

Likewise, he had stated that shuttle services between Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi may be provided by the high-capacity metro style of Vande Bharat trains, which are intended to go up to 200 kilometres. The trip would take 1.5 hours to complete. Because there aren't enough trains running from Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam to Bengaluru, passengers must rely on private buses, which may cost up to ₹4,500 during peak travel times.