Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to flag off the Vande Bharat Express between Bengaluru and Madgaon on Friday, linking Bengaluru with coastal Karnataka and Goa, The Indian Express reported. The train runs between Yesvantpur and Madgaon in about 13 hours, India TV reported.
It stops at 12 stations on the way: Shravanabelagola, Hassan, Sakleshpur, Subrahmanya Road, Kabaka Puttur, Mangaluru Junction, Udupi, Kundapura, Mookambika Road Byndoor, Murdeshwar, Gokarna Road and Karwar.
Why this route needed electrifying
A Vande Bharat needs an electrified line. Work on electrifying the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route began in December 2023 and was completed in December 2025, with an electric locomotive trial on December 28, 2025, The Indian Express reported. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said several times that this is what opened the way for the new train.
The hardest 55 km
The toughest stretch was the Western Ghats section between Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road, according to the Railways Ministry:
- 55 km long, with no approach roads to the track.
- A steep ruling gradient of 1 in 50.
- 57 tunnels, 226 bridges and 108 sharp curves.
- Prone to landslides, especially in the monsoon.
Engineers built five switching stations, kept traction poles no more than 67.5 metres apart, and installed 427 main brackets, with as many spares, across the tunnels. Geological studies were done with the National Institute of Rock Mechanics, and pull-out tests checked the anchoring at every bracket. Rain, landslides and rockfalls repeatedly held up the work, and materials often had to be brought in by rail.
Why it matters
Besides faster trains to the coast and Goa, the Railways says the electrification cuts dependence on diesel engines and emissions. The new service gives better access to destinations including Udupi, Kollur (Mookambika), Murdeshwar, Gokarna and Karwar.