Vande Bharat Express first trial run between Chennai-Mysuru begins: 5 facts to know

Chennai, Nov 07: In a big boost to fast rail connectivity in southern India, the Vande Bharat Express train between Chennai and Mysore started its trial run on Monday morning from Chennai MG Ramachandran Central Railway station at around 6 a.m. It is expected to reach Mysuru at 12:30 pm covering the 504 kilometres distance between the two cities in around six and a half hours.

Here are five facts you need to know about India's first high-speed train.

• This is the the fifth Vande Bharat Express in India. It will connect Bengaluru and Mysuru in Karnataka to Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. The upcoming Chennai-Mysore Vande Bharat Express will be flagged off by PM Modi on November 11.
• The average speed of the Chennai-Mysuru service will be between 75 and 77 km/hour. The train will leave Chennai Central at 5.50 am, stop at Bengaluru's Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KRS) Station and reach Mysuru at 12.30 pm. For the return journey, it will leave Mysuru at 1.05 pm, arrive in Bengaluru at 2.25 pm and reach Chennai at 7.35 pm.
• According to News18 reports, the 'economy class' tickets will cost Rs 921 (Chennai-Mysuru route) and 'executive class' Rs 1,880. Fares for travel between Mysuru and Bengaluru will be Rs 368 and Rs 768, respectively.
• It must be noted that the Railways recently launched the third and the fourth Vande Bharat Express from poll-bound states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Elections in Karnataka are likely to be held next year.
• Vande Bharat 2.0 trains come fitted with the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) called KAVACH, which the previous trains did not have. Coaches are equipped with disaster lights with a battery backup of three hours. The train's exterior has eight flatform-side cameras, up from four. There is also a passenger-guard communication facility in coaches, which comes with an automatic voice recording feature.

Here is the schedule of Vande Bharat Express from Bengaluru to Chennai: