Bengaluru-Coimbatore Vande Bharat express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

It would commence from the Bengaluru Cantonment Station at 1:40 PM and reach Coimbatore at 8 PM

With an average speed of 57 kmph, the Vande Bharat Express is slower than the Uday Express: J.Satish

The Inaugural Bengaluru-Coimbatore Vande Bharat express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conferencing on December 30th 2023. The train with the serial number 20642/20643 would commence from the Bengaluru Cantonment Station at 1:40 PM and reach Coimbatore at 8 PM on all days except Thursday.  In the return journey the train would commence at 5 AM from Coimbatore and Reach Bengaluru at 11:30 AM. 

Concerns have however been raised with regard to the timing and travel duration of the train. “When Uday Express that departs at 5.45 a.m. from Coimbatore to Bengaluru takes seven hours to reach the destination with five stops via Kuppam, there is no reason why the Vande Bharat Express, for which departure time of 5 a.m. has been set for operation via Hosur, should not be reduced by at least an hour. The travel time of Vande Bharat express in the Salem to Bengaluru Cantonment section is four hours and 15 minutes. It ought to be less than the timing of Ernakulam to Bengaluru Intercity city express timing which takes three hours and 50 minutes with more halts. ICF coaches are common for both trains. With an average speed of 57 kmph, the Vande Bharat Express is slower than the Uday Express that travels at an average of 60 kmph. Since the Intercity Express to Chennai is operated at 6.20 a.m, the departure time of Uday Express to Bengaluru could be fixed at 6.30 a.m. Also, there must be more second class sitting coaches for Uday Express,” former member of Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee and Director of Kongu Global Forum J. Satish stated in a representation to the Railways.