Belagavi: Though it is a double dhamaka for thousands of travellers from Mysuru to Chennai via Bengaluru as they can now either travel in the Vande Bharat Express Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru or Shatabdi Express, the timings of both the trains are almost the same, with only a minor difference.
The Vande Bharat Express leaves Chennai at 5.50 am, just 10 minutes ahead of Shatabdi’s 6 am departure. In the return direction, it leaves Mysuru at 1.05 pm, about an hour before Shatabdi. In a way, the two trains are ending up competing with each other.
The issue of similar timings was raised by MLC Marithibbegowda in the Council yesterday. He said, “Both trains resume from Mysuru in a gap of one hour which is not convenient for passengers. It also causes revenue loss.” Replying to the question, Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister V. Somanna assured the Council that the State Government would write to the Union Railway Minister requesting changes in the schedule of Vande Bharat and Shatabdi train services.
“The State Government has already formally requested the Railway Ministry to review schedules of the two trains but the Railway officials have maintained that it is difficult to change the timings,” he said. Somanna said that as per the information shared by the South Western Railway, both the trains are running with good occupancy.
This post was published on December 22, 2022 6:51 pm