Ashwini Vaishnaw flags off Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Express
The train will run between Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT), Bengaluru, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai, via Anantapur and Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh, Raichur, Yadgir, Wadi and Kalaburagi in Karnataka, and Solapur, Pune and Kalyan in Maharashtra.
Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and H D Kumaraswamy, Minister of State for Railways V Somanna, Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje and other dignitaries attended the flag-off ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Vaishnaw said the service would provide improved overnight connectivity between Bengaluru, the country’s IT and startup hub, and Mumbai, its financial capital. It would particularly benefit passengers in North Karnataka, which had limited access to premium train services.
He announced that another Vande Bharat Sleeper service would originate from Bengaluru, connect northern Karnataka towards the Hubballi region and proceed towards Pune and Mumbai.
Vande Bharat services between Bengaluru and Mangaluru were also expected to commence in the next few weeks after completion of electrification and successful testing on the route, he said.
The Bengaluru-Mumbai train will depart SMVT Bengaluru at 7.45 pm and reach CSMT at 11.55 am the following day.
In the return direction, it will leave Mumbai at 8.10 pm and arrive in Bengaluru at noon the next day.
The service will operate six days a week, except Mondays from Bengaluru and Tuesdays from Mumbai.
The new service follows the introduction of Vande Bharat Sleeper trains on the Howrah-Guwahati route in January 2026 and the flag-off of the Varanasi-New Delhi service on Saturday.
Vaishnaw also highlighted plans to expand high-speed rail connectivity, stating that the Bengaluru-Chennai journey would take 73 minutes and Bengaluru-Hyderabad connectivity about two hours and 10 minutes.
Joshi said railway infrastructure investment in Karnataka had increased and highlighted the progress in safety measures.
He said train accidents had declined from 135 to 16 following the rollout of the Kavach protection system, with the Railways aiming to achieve zero accidents.
Kumaraswamy said the new services would benefit people of Karnataka as well as migrant workers and their families from West Bengal, Assam and Bihar residing in Bengaluru.
Somanna said railway infrastructure projects worth about Rs 52,000 crore were under way in Karnataka, covering connectivity improvements, railway overbridges and underbridges and station modernisation.
