India’s new Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper service will start scheduled runs in opposite directions Nov. 2 and 3, adding an overnight rail link between two major cities across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the 16-coach train at Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT) Bengaluru on Nov. 1. The Ministry of Railways describes Bengaluru as India’s IT and startup capital and Mumbai as its financial capital.
Train No. 27651 is scheduled to leave Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai at 9:40 a.m. ET (8:10 p.m. IST) Nov. 2 and reach SMVT Bengaluru at 1:30 a.m. ET (noon IST) Nov. 3. It will operate six days a week, skipping Tuesdays.
The return service, Train No. 27652, is due to depart Bengaluru at 9:15 a.m. ET (7:45 p.m. IST) Nov. 3 and arrive in Mumbai at 1:25 a.m. ET (11:55 a.m. IST) Nov. 4. It will run six days a week, except Mondays.
Scheduled stops are Anantapur and Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh; Raichur, Yadgir and Kalaburagi in Karnataka; and Solapur, Pune and Kalyan in Maharashtra. The ministry says the service will extend premium overnight rail access to parts of North Karnataka that previously lacked it. It expects the route to serve people traveling for work, education, business, trade and tourism.
The ministry has also announced a planned sleeper service from Bengaluru through northern Karnataka toward Hubballi, then onward toward Pune and Mumbai. It has not given that route a start date or detailed timetable. The ministry says a Bengaluru-Mangaluru Vande Bharat service is expected within weeks, after electrification and successful testing.
The new line joins sleeper services on the Howrah-Guwahati corridor, which began in January, and the Varanasi-New Delhi route, flagged off Oct. 31, according to the ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Bengaluru-Mumbai train a “game changer” for connectivity. The schedule replaces the pending launch date in EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of the planned service.
