The Railway Ministry has approved an additional Vande Bharat Express Train (VBET) for the North Karnataka area, facilitating travel between Belagavi and Bengaluru, in response to requests for the extension of the current Dharwad-Bengaluru VBET. This decision was made official on Wednesday.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi confirmed that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had informed them on April 28 about the plans for the new VBET connecting Belagavi and Bengaluru. ‘The Railway Board has now approved the plan.
The Bengaluru-Dharwad-Bengaluru service departs from Bengaluru in the morning, and it is anticipated that the Belagavi-Bengaluru-Belagavi service will operate at different times, commencing from Belagavi in the morning. Vaishnav reiterated this in his correspondence,’ he noted. Belagavi MP Jagadish Shettar indicated that a trial run for the VBET between Belagavi and Bengaluru was conducted in 2023 but was postponed due to technical issues at Londa junction. ‘Although the Hubballi-Pune VBET operates on the same route, the demand for the Belagavi-Bengaluru VBET remains unmet.
We have consistently urged Railway Minister Vaishnav to extend the Bengaluru-Dharwad-Bengaluru VBET to Belagavi, and he has consented. However, we lack information regarding the new VBET service to and from Belagavi,’ he stated. In a letter dated May 6 to Joshi, Vaishnav confirmed the approval of the new Belagavi-Bengaluru VBET, which will depart from Belagavi in the morning and return from Bengaluru in the afternoon. The letter did not specify a start date.
With this announcement, the total number of Vande Bharat Express trains in North Karnataka will rise to four pairs. Currently operational are train numbers 20661/62 for Bengaluru-Dharwad-Bengaluru (six days a week), train numbers 20669/70 for Hubballi-Pune-Hubballi (tri-weekly), and train numbers 22231 for Kalaburagi-SMVT Bengaluru-Kalaburagi (six days a week), all of which are experiencing high occupancy in the region.
