Railway Ministry approves Vande Bharat service between Bengaluru and Ernakulam, via Coimbatore

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Nov 1, 2025: The Ministry of Railways has approved the operation of a Vande Bharat Express between KSR Bengaluru and Ernakulam, via Coimbatore. The train will run six days a week, except on Wednesdays. 

The Railway Board’s communication on Friday (October 31, 2025) said that the Train No. 26651 KSR Bengaluru–Ernakulam Vande Bharat Express will leave Bengaluru at 5.10 a.m. and reach Ernakulam at 1.50 p.m. In the return direction, Train No. 26652 will depart Ernakulam at 2.20 p.m. and arrive in Bengaluru at 11 p.m.

The train will stop at Krishnarajapuram, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Palakkad, and Thrissur. It will leave Krishnarajapuram at 5.25 a.m., Salem at 8.15 a.m., Erode at 9.05 a.m., Tiruppur at 9.47 a.m., Coimbatore at 10.35 a.m., Palakkad at 11.30 a.m., and Thrissur at 12.30 p.m. The return service will stop at the same stations in the reverse order.

The Railway Board has instructed South Western Railway and Southern Railway to commence the service from an early, convenient date and to issue wide publicity. It has also permitted an inaugural special run, if required, before the start of regular operations.

Coimbatore NXT, an initiative by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore, welcomed the approval and said the new service would provide two convenient connections for the city — one each to Bengaluru and Ernakulam. The train would be the fastest service from Coimbatore to Bengaluru, with a travel time of five hours and 30 minutes, and from Coimbatore to Ernakulam, with a travel time of three hours.

It also urged the Southern Railway to reduce the travel time of the existing Coimbatore–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express (Train No. 20641/20642) from six hours and 30 minutes to six hours, and to introduce a new Vande Bharat Express from Coimbatore to Thiruvananthapuram via Ernakulam.

Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan, during his recent visit to Coimbatore, stated that a Vande Bharat train connecting Ernakulam and Bengaluru, via the textile clusters of Erode, Salem, Tiruppur, and Coimbatore, along with a daily train between Coimbatore and Ranchi, would be introduced soon.