Bengaluru-Kalaburagi Vande Bharat begins March 15; return leg from March 16

Bengaluru: The Vande Bharat Express connecting Bengaluru and Kalaburagi will start on March 15. The first leg of the return journey will start on March 16.

Train number 22232 will depart from SMVT Bengaluru at 2.20 pm and reach Kalaburagi at 11.30 pm. The train will not run on Thursdays.

The return journey — train number 22231 — will depart from Kalaburagi at 5.15 am to reach SMVT Bengaluru at 2 pm. The train will not run on Fridays.

The commercial stoppages will be at Yelahanka, Dharmavaram, Anantapur, Guntakal, Mantralayam Road and Raichur in both directions. The train will have eight coaches, including one Executive Class, the South Western Railway (SWR) said.

While the travel time will be similar to that of the Solapur-Hassan Express, which covers the 543 km between Kalaburagi and Yeshwantpur in nine hours and 10 minutes, the fare will be nearly four times more.

Passengers travelling by the Vande Bharat are expected to pay Rs 1,500 for a Chair Car seat and Rs 3,000 for a seat in the Executive Class. However, the railways has yet to notify the exact fares.

The train will be initially maintained at the SMVT Bengaluru station by the South Western Railway (SWR). Once the facilities required for the train's maintenance are created at Kalaburagi, it will be operated and maintained by the Central Railway. Additionally, the train will originate from and terminate at Bengaluru Cantonment instead of SMVT Bengaluru.