New bi-weekly express train between Bengaluru and Mumbai from May 23

Bengaluru: Udyaan Express will no longer be the only direct train between Mumbai and Bengaluru. Following a series of cancellations and timetable revisions, a new bi-weekly express will operate between the cities from May 23.

The ministry of railways has finally approved train no. 16553/16554-SMVT Bengaluru-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Bi-weekly Express. On May 23, the train will begin its first journey from Sir M Viswesvarayya Terminus in Byappanahalli and the service from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai will be flagged off the next day.

It will originate from SMVT Saturdays and Tuesdays starting 8:35pm and reach Mumbai at 8:40pm the next day. The return service from Mumbai will start at 11:15pm Sundays and Wednesdays and reach Bengaluru by 10:30pm. En route the train will stop at Sampige Road, Davanagere, Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi, Miraj, Sangli, Karad, Satara, Lonand, Pune, Lonavala, Karjat, Kalyan and Thane.

While the train might be able to reduce overcrowding on Udyaan Express two days of the week, it will not provide faster connectivity, experts said.

As the train takes more than 23 hours, the railway board will soon notify a superfast express train between the cities along the same route. The much-awaited Vande Bharat sleeper, set to be flagged off in Aug, is expected to solve the decade-long rail connectivity crisis between the country’s tech and financial capitals. of the country

South Western Railway (SWR) will run an inaugural special service of the train on May 17. The zone has also confirmed the regularisation of nine special trains. Short distance trains to Channapatna, Hassan, Bangarpet, Ashokapuram and Talguppa are part of this along with an express train to Visakhapatnam will be added to the timetable as part of the regularisation.