Bengaluru-Goa Vande Bharat to be longest-duration chair car service, slowest VB in India

The Mangaluru Central-Madgaon-Mangaluru Central Vande Bharat Express, upon its extension to Yeshwantpur. | Photo Credit: ANIL KUMAR SASTRY The Bengaluru Goa Vande Bharat Express (Yesvantpur-Madgaon), which is likely to be flagged off in November, will have the distinction of being the longest-duration Vande Bharat chair car service among the 82 pairs of such services in India, taking 12.20 hours from Yeshwantpur in Bengaluru to Madgaon and 12.55 hours from Madgaon to Yeshwantpur.Not only would the service (Train No. 26655/656) be the longest-duration VB Express, it would also be the slowest among all Vande Bharat Express services in the country, with an average speed of 54 kmph and 53 kmph in the down and up directions, respectively. Train No. 22435/436 Varanasi-New Delhi-Varanasi VB Express is currently the fastest in the country, with an average speed of 95 kmph, taking eight hours to traverse 759 km in both directions.Train No.From - ToDistance (Km)Running time (hour)Average Speed (Km/h)26655/656*Bengaluru Goa (Yesvantpur – Madgaon)67012.20/12.5554/ 5326101/102Pune – Ajni (Nagpur)882127322489/490Varanasi – Meerut78311.55/11.506621893/894Tatanagar – Patna64210.30/10.356120891/892Tatanagar – Brahmapura5879.356120705/706Nanded -Mumbai CSMT6088.55/9.1068/6520707/708Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam6988.50/8.557920677/678Chennai Central – Narasapura6528.40/8.5575.7320629/628Chennai Egmore – Nagercoil7248.50/8.4582/8320631/632Mangaluru Central – Thiruvananthapuram Central6208.407226651/652Bengaluru – Ernakulam6258.407222435/436Varanasi – New Delhi759895*Yet to be launchedSourceMinistry of RailwaysAt present, the longest-duration VB Express in the country is Train No. 26101/102 Pune-Ajni (Nagpur)-Pune VB Express, which takes 12 hours to traverse 882 km, with an average speed of 73 kmph in both directions. This is followed by Train No. 22489/490 Varanasi-Meerut-Varanasi VB Express, which takes 11.55 hours and 11.50 hours, respectively, to traverse 783 km, with an average speed of 66 kmph. Eight other VB Express services in the country take more than 8.30 hours to travel in one direction.Among the existing 81 pairs of VB Express services, the Pune-Ajni, Tatanagar-Brahmapur-Tatanagar (20891/892), which takes 9.35 hours in each direction, and the Varanasi-Meerut VB Express are operated with two rakes, while the rest are operated with a single rake handling both up and down services. The Yeshwantpur-Madgaon-Yeshwantpur service would also require two rakes.Slower than superfast trainsThe Yeshwantpur-Madgaon-Yeshwantpur Vande Bharat Express, with average speeds of 54 kmph and 53 kmph, would be slower than a superfast express train and be on par with ordinary Mail/Express services.The average speed of Mail/Express services in Indian Railways is 50-54 kmph, while a train with an average speed of more than 55 kmph is categorised as a Superfast Express.Whether the Railways would levy superfast charges on the proposed Yeshwantpur-Madgaon-Yeshwantpur service is not yet clear.Technical constraintsBesides a good amount of slack time between Bengaluru and Mangaluru Junction, and between Mangaluru Junction and Madgaon, technical constraints too appear to prevent the Railways from speeding up the service significantly.Almost the entire stretch, except about 16 km between Mangaluru Junction and Thokur and about 8 km between Yeshwantpur and Chikkabanavara, is a single-line network requiring frequent crossings of trains. The other constraint is the 50-km Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section, where all trains have to be operated at a maximum speed of 30 kmph. Published - November 03, 2026 07:26 pm IST