Bengaluru-Dharwad 'Vande Bharat Express' train.
Credit: DH Photo/ B H Shivakumar
Bengaluru: The trial run of the Bengaluru-Belagavi Vande Bharat Express took place on Tuesday, with an eight-coach trainset deployed during the statutory run clocking a maximum speed of 110 kmph, the railways said.
The train is an extension of the Bengaluru-Dharwad Vande Bharat to Belagavi. Its commercial service is slated to start in the next few days.
During the trial run, the train left KSR Bengaluru at 5.45 am and arrived at Belagavi at 1.40 pm. In the return direction, it left Belagavi around 2 pm to arrive at KSR Bengaluru at 10.10 pm, said Kusuma Hariprasad, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Administration), Bengaluru.
The start of the commercial run as well as the fare will be notified soon by the South Western Railway (SWR) headquarters, she added.
The semi-high-speed train is likely to get a one-minute stoppage at Londa Junction, in addition to the existing stoppages at Yeshwantpur, Davangere, Hubballi and Dharwad.
The onward journey took 10 minutes longer (7 hours and 55 minutes) to cover the 610.6-km distance between the two cities, but the return journey maintained the expected time.
During the trial run, the railways' operating officers and timetable controllers monitored the originating, terminating, interchange and stoppage timings. They are expected to submit a detailed report to the Bengaluru railway division.