Bengaluru-Mangaluru Vande Bharat trials are now closer to a practical test, with South Western Railway preparing to send the train through one of the route’s toughest sections. Commercial operations, though, will still need safety approvals after the June trials.

Bengaluru-Mangaluru Vande Bharat trial nears
Vande Bharat (Photo: Mathrubhumi)

Railway sources said SWR has tentatively proposed the trial run for this week. Officials from the Bengaluru and Mysuru divisions have already been informed about the planned tests, which would move the proposed Vande Bharat Express connection between Bengaluru and Mangaluru a step nearer.

The terminals for the future service are still undecided. For the trial phase, the train is expected to run between Yeshwantpur and Mangaluru Central. SWR plans to use an eight-car Vande Bharat trainset retrofitted with an auto emergency brake system, with the test starting early from Yeshwantpur.

A single-direction journey is expected to take around 8.5 hours. During the run, the train will stop at likely stations on the route, including Hassan, Sakleshpur, and Subrahmanya Road. The movement will follow a fixed timetable, giving SWR a clearer view of possible operating timings.

Why Bengaluru-Mangaluru Vande Bharat needs AEB?

The main challenge remains the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road ghat section on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route. The terrain is complex, and there is no approach road to the railway track. The section includes 57 tunnels, 226 bridges, and 108 sharp curves, while electrification of the stretch took almost two years.

TOI reported in February that the Railway Board had sanctioned the newly electrified Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road section for other passenger and goods trains. Vande Bharat operations were not cleared at that stage. The Research Designs and Standards Organisation had flagged that conventional Vande Bharat trains did not have auto emergency brake systems.

The 55 km ghat stretch requires AEB because of steep gradients and difficult operating conditions. The system limits the train’s speed to 30 km/h, and if the train crosses that limit, the brakes are applied automatically.

Trial run to shape the final timetable

To address the issue, the railways chose to retrofit AEB on existing Vande Bharat rakes. Once the June trials are completed, South Western Railway will need safety certificates before launching commercial operations. That makes the coming test both a technical check and an operational exercise.

During the trial run, SWR will observe origination, termination, crew interchange, stoppage duration, and timing at stations. The zone will then prepare a report before confirming the final operational timetable for the proposed service.

Mangaluru is one of Karnataka’s major cities, and the planned connection could benefit the wider coastal region. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw earlier said that Vande Bharat service would cover coastal Karnataka, linking Madgaon in Goa with Mangaluru and then connecting Mangaluru with Bengaluru.