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The South Western Railway (SWR) has proposed shifting the Bengaluru terminals of the Kalaburagi and Belagavi Vande Bharat Express trains to Yeshwantpur Railway Station from August due to operational and logistical reasons. However, the proposal is currently awaiting approval from the Railway Board.
Bengaluru-Kalaburagi Vande Bharat Express
Under the proposed plan, the SMVT Bengaluru-Kalaburagi Vande Bharat Express will no longer start from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT). Instead, it will depart from Yeshwantpur at the same scheduled time of 2.40 pm, six days a week.
Similarly, the KSR Bengaluru-Belagavi Vande Bharat Express will also begin its journey from Yeshwantpur instead of KSR Bengaluru. If approved, the train will leave Yeshwantpur at 2.32 pm, which is 12 minutes later than its current departure time of 2.20 pm.
The return schedules of both trains will also change. The Kalaburagi Vande Bharat will arrive at Yeshwantpur at 2.10 pm, around 20 minutes later than its current arrival time of 1.50 pm. The Belagavi Vande Bharat will also reach Yeshwantpur at 2.10 pm, which is also 20 minutes later than its present arrival time.
Why is the Change Made?
Railway sources said the proposal has been made to improve operational efficiency by allowing the two services to share trainsets (rakes). At present, separate rakes are used for both trains. Once the new schedule is implemented, the same rake may be used for both services, making operations more efficient.
Officials said the revised schedule could come into effect during the first week of August, provided the Railway Board approves the proposal. However, shifting both services to Yeshwantpur may also require changes to the timings of other trains operating from the station. One of the trains that could be affected is the Kacheguda-Yeshwantpur Vande Bharat Express, which connects Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
The Belagavi and Kalaburagi Vande Bharat trains currently have the lowest passenger occupancy among Vande Bharat services operated by South Western Railway. According to SWR data, the Belagavi Vande Bharat recorded an average occupancy of 64.3% and earned ₹8.9 crore in revenue between August 2025 and April 2026, making it the least occupied Vande Bharat service in the SWR zone.