PM Modi to flag off Bengaluru–Mangaluru–Udupi–Madgaon Vande Bharat Express on November 13

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Nov 11, 2026: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the much-awaited Bengaluru–Mangaluru–Udupi–Madgaon Vande Bharat Express in Bengaluru on November 13, connecting Karnataka’s coastal region with the state capital and Goa.

The semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express, regarded as a symbol of modern Indian rail travel, will provide a direct rail connection between Bengaluru and the Karnataka coast, extending up to Madgaon in Goa. The train, which has been operating between Mangaluru and Madgaon for the past year, will now be extended to Bengaluru.

Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivasa Poojary said that Prime Minister Modi would inaugurate the service at a programme scheduled to be held in Bengaluru at 2 pm on Friday, November 13.

At the same time, a symbolic inauguration of the Vande Bharat train travelling from the coastal region towards Bengaluru will be held at Mangaluru Junction. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, along with the MPs representing Mangaluru, Udupi and Karwar, will participate in the programme.

Regular services in both directions, between Bengaluru and Madgaon, are scheduled to commence on November 15, following the inauguration on November 13, Poojary said in a statement. He also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of the people of Karnataka, particularly the coastal region, for introducing the much-awaited train service connecting the coast with the state capital.

The proposal to introduce a Vande Bharat service to Bengaluru dates back to 2019, when then Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had envisioned such a connection. However, the plan could not materialise at the time due to the pending electrification work along the Sakleshpur–Subrahmanya Ghat section.

The dream gained fresh momentum after the electrification of the Karwar–Mangaluru–Bengaluru route was completed as part of Indian Railways’ nationwide electrification programme.

During his visit to Bengaluru last year, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the decision to operate a Vande Bharat Express between Bengaluru and Madgaon via Mangaluru.

Since the Vande Bharat service was already operational between Mangaluru and Madgaon, trial runs were subsequently conducted several times on the Bengaluru–Mangaluru stretch.

With the inauguration scheduled for November 13, the long-awaited Vande Bharat connectivity between Bengaluru, Karnataka’s coastal districts and Goa is set to become a reality, Poojary said.