Dharwad
The South Western Railway (SWR) conducted the trial run of the Vande Bharat Express Train between KSR Bengaluru and Belagavi. Following demand from the people of Belagavi and Rajyasabha Member Iranna Kadadi, the Railway Ministry has decided to extend the Vande Bharat Express up to Belagavi.
After the trial run, the SWR will send a report to the railway board about the trial satisfying the safety and other conditions and the latter will take a final call on approving the extension of the train up to Belagavi, said SWR Chief PRO Aneesh Hegde.
Once the clearance comes from the Railway Board, the final timings will be decided. According to sources in the Railways, once the extended train service starts, the timings change. If everything goes according to the plan, Vande Bharat Express 20661 will leave KSR Bengaluru at 5.45 am and reach Hubli at 10.50 am and Dharwad at 11.20 am. It will reach Belagavi at 1.30pm.
On the return journey, train no. 20662 will leave Belagavi at 2 pm, and reach Dharwad at 4.15 pm. It will leave Dharwad at 4.20 pm, Hubli at 4.50 pm and reach KSR Bengaluru at 10.10 pm.
As of now, the semi high-speed train leaves KSR Bengaluru at 5.45 am and reaches Dharwad at 12.10 pm. On the return journey, it will start from Dharwad at 1.15 pm and reach KSR Bengaluru at 7.45 pm. Since the timing was convenient for passengers travelling to Bengaluru from Dharwad-Hubli the occupancy was 90 percent. Now, with the extension up to Belagavi, the distance covered by the train on one way will be 611.6km. The train will cover the distance between KSR Bengaluru and Belagavi in 7 hours 45 minutes, while on the return journey, it will take 8 hours and 10 minutes.
