The Bengaluru–Ernakulam Vande Bharat Express will switch from eight to 16 coaches next week, lifting seating capacity from 530 to 1,128 ahead of the Onam rush.

Decorated Bengaluru–Ernakulam Vande Bharat Express at Palakkad Junction
The decorated Bengaluru–Ernakulam Vande Bharat Express at Palakkad Junction on November 8, 2025. Photo: Vijayanrajapuram / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0; resized.

Capacity rises from 530 to 1,128 seats

The Railway Board approval for a 16-coach rake⁠ replaces the eight-coach formation currently assigned to the service. The longer train is expected to enter operation next week, although a specific start date was not reported.

Demand is already building for the festival period. Chair car waitlists for journeys from Bengaluru to Ernakulam on August 21 and 22 have exceeded 100, while return services from August 29 to 31 are fully booked.

Onam celebrations are scheduled to run from August 16 to 28 in 2026, with the main Thiruvonam day falling on August 26. The additional coaches are intended to improve ticket availability during this peak travel period.

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Timetable remains built around an 8h40 journey

Train 26651 departs KSR Bengaluru at 5:10 a.m., except on Wednesdays, and reaches Ernakulam Junction at 1:50 p.m. The return service, Train 26652, leaves Ernakulam at 2:20 p.m. and arrives in Bengaluru at 11 p.m., according to the Southern Railway service announcement⁠.

The capacity decision changes the rake formation rather than the reported timetable or frequency. When the service was introduced in November 2025, official launch information⁠ described an 8-hour-40-minute journey and a travel-time reduction of more than two hours.

Separate Kerala service proposal is rejected

Alongside the coach approval, the Railway Board declined a proposal for a separate Vande Bharat service between Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram. Officials said the proposed train would remain idle for extended periods at Thiruvananthapuram.

Passenger associations instead proposed linking Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram with a longer service continuing to Chennai via Nagercoil, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli.

Their suggested timetable would take the train from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram by 10 a.m. and onward to Chennai by approximately 7 p.m. The proposed return would leave Chennai at 8 a.m., reach Thiruvananthapuram by 7 p.m. and arrive in Ernakulam by 8 p.m. Southern Railway has not yet considered this alternative.

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