Mangaluru-Goa Vande Bharat Express to Be Launched in November

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Nov 1, 2026: The Railway Department is set to introduce an extended Vande Bharat Express service connecting Bengaluru, coastal Karnataka and Goa in the third week of November, around Deepavali.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw conveyed the proposed inauguration schedule to Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary during a meeting at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi.

The train will operate from Yeshwantpur in Bengaluru to Madgaon in Goa via Hassan, Udupi and Uttara Kannada. The extension is expected to fulfil a long-standing demand of people in the coastal region and improve connectivity between Bengaluru, coastal Karnataka and Goa.

According to Poojary, trial runs have been completed, and the signalling and braking systems have been tested along the challenging ghat sections between Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road.

The existing Vande Bharat Express operating between Mangaluru Central and Madgaon will be extended to Yeshwantpur. The earlier train numbers 20646/20645 will be replaced with 26655/26656 for the extended service.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai-Bengaluru Sleeper Vande Bharat Express is scheduled to be inaugurated on November 1 and commence regular commercial operations from November 2.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is also expected to visit coastal Karnataka in connection with the launch of the extended service. He shared the information with Union Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna and MP Kota Srinivas Poojary during the meeting.

State leaders also congratulated the Railway Minister on the railway projects implemented in Karnataka.