Pune: Passengers will soon have a faster overnight rail option to Bengaluru, with the first Vande Bharat Sleeper Express connecting Maharashtra and Karnataka set to be inaugurated on Nov 1.The service, connecting Mumbai and Bengaluru, will also halt at Pune, significantly reducing the journey time between the city and the Karnataka capital.The inaugural special, train number 06503, will be flagged off from SMVT Bengaluru station at 12.15 pm on Nov 1 and reach CSMT Mumbai at 6.15 am the following day. Regular services will commence from Nov 2, railway officials said.“The regular train will operate as numbers 27651/27652 between CSMT and SMVT Bengaluru. Train No. 27651 will depart CSMT at 8.10pm six days a week, except Tuesdays, and reach Bengaluru at noon the following day. The return service, number 27652, will leave Bengaluru at 7.45pm six days a week from Nov 3 and arrive at CSMT at 11.55am the next day. The train will halt at Kalyan, Pune, Solapur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Guntakal and Anantapur,” a railway official said.For Pune passengers, the service is expected to substantially reduce travel time. The train will arrive at Pune railway station from Mumbai at 11.40pm, with a five-minute halt. On its return journey from Bengaluru, it will reach Pune at 8am. “At present, there are no trains originating from Pune for Bengaluru. However, 18 pairs of trains from the Mumbai region operate via Pune to Bengaluru, with an average journey time of around 20 hours and five minutes. The new service will cover the Pune-Bengaluru journey in approximately 12 hours and 20 minutes. The journey between Pune and Mumbai will take around three hours and 55 minutes,” a senior railway official in Pune said.The train will have 16 coaches, comprising one AC first-class coach, four AC two-tier coaches and 11 AC three-tier coaches. Bookings for train No. 27651 will open on Nov 1. The sleeper train will feature dedicated luggage space, phone-charging points, automatic doors and facilities for passengers with restricted mobility. Emergency buttons and a talkback system will also allow passengers to contact train crew for assistance during the journey.
