SWR conducts runtime trial run of Vande Bharat Express between Yeshwantpur, Mangaluru

The 16-rake Vande Bharat Express on a trial run from Yeshwantpur arrives at Mangaluru Central railway station on Saturday. | Photo Credit: H.S. MANJUNATH The South Western Railway (SWR) conducted the runtime trial run of a Vande Bharat Express rake between Yeshwantpur in Bengaluru and Mangaluru Central ahead of the introduction of a regular service between the State capital and coastal Karnataka on Saturday, September 5.Leaving Yeshwantpur at around 6.30 a.m. instead of the earlier announced 6.05 a.m., the train arrived at Mangaluru Central at 4.25 p.m., instead of 2.25 p.m. It left for Yeshwantpur at 4.46 p.m. instead of 3 p.m.Also, the 2023-make 16-car Vande Bharat rake, fitted with an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, became the first train-set to run on electric traction end-to-end. Though the Bengaluru-Mangaluru sector was completely electrified in December last year, the Railways was yet to operate trains on electric traction. All services between Bengaluru/Vijayapura and the coast have been running on diesel traction.Technical glitchThe trial rake, carrying officials from the operations, mechanical, electrical, signal and telecommunications, and other departments, reached Hassan at around 8.45 a.m. and Sakleshpur at around 9.45 a.m. While the rake was traversing the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section, it faced technical glitches, according to Divisional Railway Manager of SWR’s Mysuru Division Mudit Mittal.The glitch was caused by the overhead electric equipment not being stable on the Ghat section. After personnel fixed the glitch, the rake reached Subrahmanya Road Station at 1.55 p.m. instead of 12.35 p.m. The Vande Bharat Express on a trial run from Bengaluru passes through Kabaka Puttur railway station on Saturday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT One more trialThese trials were being conducted also to identify issues in train operations, the DRM said, adding that the Railways might conduct one more runtime trial to be doubly sure about the smooth operation of trains on electric traction. While 8.25 hours and 8 hours were respectively allocated for the onward and return trips on Saturday, the trial run was to assess the actual time taken in each section before finalising the timetable, destinations, and halts, Mr. Mittal said.On the rake reaching Mangaluru Central at 4.25 p.m., station officials welcomed the train. It halted for a brief period at Central before commencing the return journey at 4.46 p.m. towards Yeshwantpur. The Vande Bharat Express ready for its return journey to Yeshwantpur in Mangaluru on Saturday. | Photo Credit: ANIL KUMAR SASTRY High running timeWhile authorising the trial run on Thursday, SWR headquarters had said the proposed running time was too high. Efforts should be made to reduce the running time as far as possible, duly following all safety precautions.The Bengaluru-Kozhikode Express (16511) takes 9.25 hours between Yeshwantpur and Mangaluru with 10 commercial halts en route. While the Bengaluru-Karwar Panchaganga Express (16595) takes 2.30 hours between Yeshwantpur and Hassan with two halts en route, the Vande Bharat trial run with no stops en route was given three hours. If the train could traverse the distance in about two hours, the end-to-end time could come down to seven hours. Published - September 05, 2026 08:23 pm IST