It is happening! Kochi-Bengaluru Vande Bharat to begin service mid-November

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The much-awaited Vande Bharat service from Ernakulam to Bengaluru will start soon, announced the railways. The Railways released the schedule of the train, including the stops. The service will be available on all days except Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the service online.

The train will depart from Ernakulam at 2.20 pm and will reach KSR Bengaluru by 11 pm. The return journey will begin at 5.10 am the next day, and the train will arrive at Ernakulam by noon. There will be stops at Thrissur and Palakkad stations in Kerala. Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur, Salem and Krishnarajapuram will likely be stops for the train. As per reports, the service will start by the middle of this month.

The Vande Bharat service from Kerala to Bengaluru has been a long-standing need of Malayalees. Hitherto, most Keralites were left with no option but to accept the extortionate rates charged by bus operators plying from Bengaluru to Kochi. This daylight ‘robbery’ is likely to see its last days soon with the introduction of the elite train connecting the two cities.

Bengaluru is home to a sizable Malayali population, a lion's share in the IT sector. The community have been pleading with authorities for an elite faster train connecting the two cities for faster commute during festival seasons.