06 October,2026 07:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
Interior of a Vande Bharat Sleeper coach. Pics/By Special Arrangement
After a three-decade wait for faster rail connectivity between Mumbai and Bengaluru, and exactly a year after the Centre promised a superfast train on the route, the Vande Bharat Sleeper has finally begun moving towards Mumbai.
A 16-coach sleeper rake earmarked for the service is being moved from its manufacturer, Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, to CSMT, raising hopes that the long-pending service could finally become a reality.
The latest movement of the rake comes after several delays, including uncertainty over rake allocation and the route. The train was seen near Pune on its way to Mumbai on Saturday.
The promise dates back to September 27, 2025, when Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya announced that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had assured a superfast Bengaluru-Mumbai service.
A year later, the service had still not started, leaving passengers largely dependent on the Udyan Express, the only daily direct service between the two cities, which takes around 22-24 hours. Regular passengers, businessmen and traders travelling between the two major economic centres have largely had to depend on buses because of limited train services.
The Vande Bharat Sleeper train enters Mumbai. Pic/Harsh Kamble
"This was a demand pending for 30 years. In the last three decades, despite the growth of both cities, we had only one superfast train between Bengaluru and Mumbai. Last year alone, over 26 lakh people travelled by air between the two cities. This new service will make travel more affordable and convenient for lakhs of citizens," Surya had said.
The Railway Board has in-principle approved a six-days-a-week service between KSR Bengaluru/SMVT Bengaluru and CSMT, with the journey expected to take less than 16 hours - around eight hours quicker than the Udyan Express.
The proposed route is via Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Solapur, Pune and Kalyan. However, the final stoppages and timetable are yet to be officially notified. The Railway Board's working schedule currently shows an overnight departure from Bengaluru and an afternoon arrival in Mumbai, but these timings remain tentative and could change.
