Southern Railway is geared up for the launch of the Mangaluru Central-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to flag off the service on December 30 from a remote location along with five other services.
The Palakkad division has confirmed the launch. According to Divisional Railway Manager Arun Kumar Chaturvedi, the division has made elaborate preparations for the launch on Platform No. 1 at Mangaluru Central.
Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express halts
- Mangaluru Central
- Udupi
- Karwar
- Madgaon
As per the tentative timetable, which has not been confirmed by the division, the service leaves Mangaluru Central at 8.30 am to reach Madgaon at 1.05 pm, a distance of about 320 km, and has commercial halts at Udupi and Karwar. On the return trip, the Vande Bharat Express leaves Madgaon at 6.10 pm to reach Mangaluru Central at 10.45 pm.
Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel had made a strong pitch for Vande Bharat services between Mangaluru-Madgaon, Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru-Bengaluru during his meeting with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on September 22. The Ministry as of now has sanctioned the Madgaon service while the Bengaluru service is likely to be sanctioned once the electrification between Subrahmanya Road Station and Sakleshpur Station on the ghat stretch is completed.
Additional platforms at Mangaluru Central
While flagging off the VB service, Mr. Modi is also likely to dedicate two additional platforms — 4 and 5 — at Mangaluru Central. The new platforms were being used for operational purposes for about a month, mainly to receive trains.
