Indian Railways is set to launch a direct Vande Bharat train between Mumbai and Mangaluru by merging two existing routes. The Mumbai-Goa and Mangaluru-Goa Vande Bharat trains will be combined into a single service.
This change is expected to cut travel time to around 12 hours. Currently, the Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat leaves Mumbai at 5:25 AM and arrives in Goa at 1:10 PM. The Mangaluru-Goa Vande Bharat departs at 8:30 AM and reaches Goa at 1:10 PM.
Under the new plan, the Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat will continue to Mangaluru and will reach around 6:00 PM. The Mangaluru-Goa Vande Bharat will now extend to Mumbai, arriving by 9:00 PM.
Railway officials believe this change will increase passenger numbers. The Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat has had a peak occupancy of 90%. Now, it has dropped to about 70%. The Mangaluru-Goa service has even lower demand, with occupancy falling below 40%. The new route is expected to improve these numbers.
Indian Railways had earlier considered extending the Mangaluru-Goa Vande Bharat to Kozhikode. However, political opposition in Karnataka halted the plan. Instead, the railway authorities decided to merge the Mumbai-Goa and Mangaluru-Goa routes to improve efficiency.
Trains between Mumbai and Mangaluru, as well as those going to Kerala, are often fully booked. Railway officials expect high demand for this direct Vande Bharat service. They believe it will offer a faster and more convenient travel option for passengers.
In a separate update, the Bengaluru-Chennai Motorway project has been delayed. The road was expected to be completed by August 2025. Due to ongoing construction, the new completion date is now June 2026. The 262-kilometre greenfield motorway is being built by the National Highways.
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