The Railway Board has tweaked the timings of Coimbatore-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, much to the relief of the travelling public who had been inconvenienced by the departure time of 5 a.m.
The change in the departure timing to 7.25 a.m. has been effected in the wake of repeated requests made to the Railway Ministry by passenger associations and people’s representatives, right from the time of introduction of the train on December 30, 2023.
As per the revised timings, the train is scheduled to reach Bengaluru Cantonment at 1.50 p.m. In the return direction, the train is scheduled to start at 2.20 p.m. and reach Coimbatore Junction at 8.45 p.m. The train is operated on all days except Thursdays.
In a letter addressed to the South Western Railway and Southern Railway, the Railway Board has said the Ministry of Railways has approved the proposal for revision of timings of the (20641/ 20642) Bengaluru Cantonment-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express, and has directed that the change in timing be given wide publicity. “The change in timing may be given effect from an early convenient date,” the letter said.
The 5 a.m. departure time was inconvenient, particularly for senior citizens, as also the compulsion for passengers to reach the railway station from their homes in own or hired vehicles, in the absence or shortage of public transport services.
There were indications that the Railway Board would tweak the timings of the train when the bookings were halted during the last two weeks of January, and restored on February 1.
“The 7.30 a.m. departure time from Coimbatore will be quite convenient,” said former member of divisional railway users’ consultative committee and director of Kongu Global Forum J. Sathish.
Alongside, the Railways could also explore the scope for reducing travel time by at least half an hour in both directions, Mr. Sathish emphasised.
Nevertheless, the train will, henceforth, have cent percent patronage as office-goers in Bengaluru planning their visit to Coimbatore could board the train conveniently after half-day work, according to Sarvesh, an IT professional.
