Goa-Mangaluru Vande Bharat Express to be extended to Bengaluru: Railway Minister

Sources said the Yesvantpur-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express (26655) is likely to depart Yeshwantpur in Bengaluru at 6.05 am to reach Madgaon in Goa at 7.15 pm

Updated - September 30, 2026 02:29 pm IST - MANGALURU

Train No. 20646, Mangaluru Central-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express departing on September 30, 2026. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the train will be extended to Yesvantpur in Bengaluru to run as Yesvantpur-Madgaon-Yesvantpur Vande Bharat Express via Mangaluru Junction. | Photo Credit: ANIL KUMAR SASTRY

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on September 29 revealed that the Ministry will introduce a Vande Bharat Express between Yesvantpur in Bengaluru and Madgaon in Goa via Mangaluru Junction, connecting coastal Karnataka with the State capital.

In letters to coastal Karnataka MPs Captain Brijesh Chowta, Kota Srinivas Poojary, and Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Mr. Vaishnaw said that the existing Train No. 20646/645 Mangaluru Central – Madgaon – Mangaluru Central VB Express will be extended to Yeshwantpur in Bengaluru.

The Mangaluru Central – Madgaon - Mangaluru Central VB Express has been in operation since December 31, 2023, covering the distance in about 5 hours 30 minutes. The extended service would run with new numbers — Train No. 26655/656 Yesvantpur – Madgaon – Yesvantpur Vande Bharat Express via Mangaluru Junction with revised timings, the Minister said.

The Railway Ministry conducted the run time trial of the VB Express with a 16-car coach on September 10 between Yesvantpur-Mangaluru Junction-Yesvantpur covering the distance in 7.05 hours and 6.49 hours in the down and up directions, respectively.

While the Ministry is yet to officially announce the timetable for the proposed Yesvantpur-Madgaon-Yesvantpur VB Express, sources said that the Yesvantpur-Madgaon VB Express (26655) is likely to depart Yeshwantpur at 6.05 am to reach Madgaon at 7.15 pm.

The Madgaon-Yesvantpur VB Express (26656) is likely to depart Madgaon in Goa at 5.30 am to reach Yeshwantpur in Bengaluru at 6.40 pm on the same day.

Sources said that the Railways would require two VB rakes, mostly 8-car ones to operate the new services. New 8-car rakes were now coming with in-built automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, a pre-condition to operate the trains on the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road ghat section, with the speed being capped at 30 kmph.

Passengers want railways to reduce journey time

Patrons want the Railways to reduce the journey time, from the proposed 13 hours to at least 11 hours so as to offer maximum benefits to passengers. The existing Yesvantpur-Karwar tri weekly express (16515) takes about 16 hours to cover the 610 km distance at an average speed of 38 km while the Karwar-Yesvantpur tri weekly express (16516) takes about 15 hours to traverse the distance with an average speed of 40 kmph.

Another demand is that 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, according to Pashchima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath.

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.

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.

“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.”

Published - September 30, 2026 01:06 pm IST

railway / travel and commuting / ministers (government) / Bengaluru / Mangalore

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