PM inaugurates Ernakulam South-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express: Journey in 8 hrs 40 mts| VIDEO
Ernakulam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning inaugurated the much-awaited Ernakulam South–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express via video conferencing from Varanasi.
The launch function was also held at Ernakulam South railway station, where the inaugural train departed at 8.41 am. The ceremony was attended by Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Union Ministers Suresh Gopi and George Kurien, State Minister P Rajeev, and several public representatives. Celebratory events were also organised at Thrissur, Palakkad, and various stations across Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The regular service of the new Vande Bharat Express will begin on November 11, with ticket bookings opening by Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. Fares will be charged at Shatabdi Express rates, approximately ₹1,500 for an AC chair car and ₹2,400 for an executive chair car.
Covering a distance of 630 km, the train will complete the Ernakulam–Bengaluru journey in 8 hours and 40 minutes. The service features eight coaches with 600 seats and nine scheduled stops. Passengers on the inaugural run include representatives, media personnel, teachers, children, and social media influencers, who received souvenir tickets to mark the occasion.
Alongside this launch, three other Vande Bharat services, Banaras–Khajuraho, Lucknow Junction–Saharanpur, and Firozpur–Delhi, were also inaugurated.
Ernakulam South–Bengaluru Vande Bharat timetable
Train No. 26652 (Ernakulam Junction – KSR Bengaluru)
- Ernakulam South – 2:20 pm
- Thrissur – 3:20 pm
- Shoranur – 4:00 pm
- Palakkad – 4:37 pm
- Podanur – 5:28 pm
- Coimbatore – 5:38 pm
- Tiruppur – 6:05 pm
- Erode – 6:50 pm
- Salem – 7:20 pm
- Jolarpettai – 9:05 pm
- Krishnarajapuram – 10:25 pm
- KSR Bengaluru – 11:00 pm
Train No. 26651 (KSR Bengaluru – Ernakulam Junction)
- KSR Bengaluru – 5:10 am
- Krishnarajapuram – 5:25 am
- Jolarpettai – 7:00 am
- Salem – 8:15 am
- Erode – 9:05 am
- Tiruppur – 9:47 am
- Coimbatore – 10:35 am
- Podanur – 10:45 am
- Palakkad – 11:30 am
- Shoranur – 12:11 pm
- Thrissur – 12:30 pm
- Ernakulam South – 1:50 pm