Inflated distance, longer journey hours make travel costlier on Yeshwantpur-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express

A brand-new 16-car Vande Bharat rake kept ready for the inaugural run of the Madgaon–Yeshwantpur Vande Bharat Express from Mangaluru Junction on Sunday, as seen on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: H.S. MANJUNATH Passengers travelling from Yeshwantpur to Karwar on the Yeshwantpur-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express will pay ₹480 extra in Chair Car (CC) and ₹750 extra on Executive Chair Car (EC) classes when compared to similar classes of travel on the Mangaluru Central-Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat Express, which traverses almost the same distance.The total fare from Mangaluru to Thiruvananthapuram (620 km) in CC on the Vande Bharat Express is ₹1,640 compared to ₹2,120 from Yeshwantpur to Karwar, while the EC fare is ₹2,970 as against ₹3,720. Similar excess fares apply to other destinations on the Yeshwantpur-Madgaon-Yeshwantpur Vande Bharat Express, depending on distance and journey hours.Inflated distanceWhile passengers on the Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express pay the base fare for the actual distance travelled, those from Yeshwantpur to Karwar pay according to an inflated distance (760 km as against an actual 610 km). The distance is inflated by about 100 km on the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. network at a rate of 40% and by 55 km on the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section on the South Western Railway network at a rate of 100%.The distance inflation on the KRCL network on the Thokur-Madgaon section is nearly 120 km, bringing the chargeable distance to about 423 km between Mangaluru Junction and Madgaon. Between Yeshwantpur and Mangaluru Junction, the actual distance of 357 km is inflated to 412 km.Longer travelFares are higher on the Madgaon Vande Bharat due to longer journey hours too. While the Yeshwantpur-Madgaon Vande Bharat takes 13.20 hours end-to-end and 12 hours to Karwar, the Madgaon-Yeshwantpur Vande Bharat takes 12.55 hours end-to-end and 12.10 hours from Karwar to Yeshwantpur.This entails two meals and a breakfast, nearly doubling catering charges (₹651 for CC and ₹767 for EC for both Madgaon and Karwar passengers) compared to fares on the Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat, which completes the journey within 8.40 hours in both directions (₹363 for CC and ₹418 for EC).While the average speed of the Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat traversing a double line is 72 km/hour, that of the Madgaon Vande Bharat traversing a single line is below 52 km/hour, as good as an ordinary mail/express train.Superfast chargesAlthough guidelines prescribe an average speed of 55 km/hour to categorise a train as a superfast express, the Madgaon Vande Bharat is nevertheless categorised as a superfast express train, with relevant charges added to the total fare. Published - November 12, 2026 07:11 pm IST