BENGALURU: After much delay, the railway board is set to notify the SMVT Bengaluru-Mumbai CSMT Vande Bharat Sleeper soon. Sources state that the service will be flagged off later this month.The country’s second Vande Bharat sleeper will significantly cut rail travel time between India’s tech and financial capitals.According to the current plan, the flagship train will operate six days a week in both directions and will complete the journey in less than 16 hours. Currently, the Udyan Express, which is the only daily direct train between the cities, takes 24 hours on average.It could depart SMVT Bengaluru at 10 pm and reach CSMT Mumbai at 1:50 pm. In the return direction, the train could depart Mumbai at 10:30 pm and arrive in Bengaluru at 2:50 pm. Sources indicated that the timetable could change.While a flag-off date is yet to be announced, railway zones have been instructed to start it at an early, convenient date.The service will not pass through Hubballi; instead, it will have stoppages at Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Solapur, and Kalyan.A superfast rail connectivity to Mumbai has been a demand that passengers have been raising for more than three decades. Despite promises, the travel between Mumbai and Bengaluru remains on the slower side. However, the announcement of the Vande Bharat Express is expected to ease and enhance the demand.
