Passengers disappointed as Vande Bharat service on Ernakulam-Bengaluru route discontinued despite high demand

By Deepu Mohan | First Published Aug 29, 2024, 11:56 AM IST

The Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat service has been discontinued despite good revenue and high occupancy rates. Railway officials hint at resuming the service after revising the departure time, but no official announcement has been made, leaving passengers disappointed and concerned about travel difficulties during the festive season.

Kochi: In a move that has left passengers disappointed, the temporary Vande Bharat service on the Ernakulam-Bengaluru route has been discontinued by the railways. The special service, which was launched on July 25, was initially planned to operate three days a week.

Despite registering good revenue, with 105 percentage occupancy on the Ernakulam-Bengaluru route and 88 percentage on the Bengaluru-Ernakulam route, the service was eventually stopped as there were no notifications extending the service. The move has caused dissatisfaction among passengers who had grown accustomed to the convenient service.

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In contrast, the Mangaluru-Goa Vande Bharat service, which has been operational for eight months, has only 31 percentage booking. Passengers had demanded the continuation of the Ernakulam-Bengaluru service due to its good revenue and convenience.

Railway officials hinted that the service might resume after revising the departure time from Bengaluru's Cantonment station. The railways had proposed changing the departure time from Bengaluru's Cantonment station from 5:30 am to 6:00 am, but no official announcement has been made regarding the service's resumption.

The discontinuation of the service is expected to worsen travel difficulties to Kerala from Bengaluru during the Onam festive season. Passengers are eagerly awaiting an official announcement from the railways regarding the service's resumption.

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