North Karnataka gets fourth Vande Bharat Express between Belagavi and Bengaluru

HUBBALLI: The Railway Ministry has approved another Vande Bharat Express Train (VBET) for the North Karnataka region to run between Belagavi and Bengaluru, against the demand for the extension of the existing Dharwad-Bengaluru VBET. The plan was approved on Wednesday.Confirming it to TOI, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi stated that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav communicated with them on April 28, saying that the new VBET was being planned for Belagavi-Bengaluru. "Now the plan is approved by the Railway Board. Since Bengaluru-Dharwad-Bengaluru starts from Bengaluru in the morning, it’s expected that Belagavi-Bengaluru-Belagavi will run at a contrasting time, starting from Belagavi in the morning. Vaishnav confirmed this in his letter," he stated.Belagavi MP Jagadish Shettar mentioned that a trial run was conducted to operate a VBET between Belagavi and Bengaluru in 2023 itself. "It was deferred due to technical reasons at Londa junction. Though the Hubballi-Pune VBET runs on the same route, the demand for the Belagavi-Bengaluru VBET is yet to be fulfilled. We have been requesting Railway Minister Vaishnav to extend the Bengaluru-Dharwad-Bengaluru VBET to Belagavi, and he has agreed to it.However, we are unaware of the new VBET from and to Belagavi," he mentioned.Vaishnav stated in his letter dated May 6, written to Joshi, that the new Belagavi-Bengaluru VBET has been approved, and the service will leave Belagavi in the morning for Bengaluru. "In return, it will start from Bengaluru in the afternoon for Belagavi," the letter read. He did not mention the date of commencement.With this announcement, the number of Vande Bharat Express trains will increase to four pairs in NK alone. Train numbers 20661/62, Bengaluru-Dharwad-Bengaluru (six days a week), train numbers 20669/70 Hubballi-Pune-Hubballi (tri-weekly), and train numbers 22231 Kalaburagi-SMVT Bengaluru-Kalaburagi (six days a week) are running with good occupancy in the region.