This train is an excellent day service option for passengers bound to/fro Salem, Namakkal, Trichy and even Madurai.
Bhpian vigsom recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Introduction
The Vande Bharat Express has been reviewed a lot via these threads and many other user experiences.
1. Train18
2. Orange vs White Vande Bharat
3. Mysuru-chennai vande bharat
4. Ahmedabad Mumbai Vande Bharat
5. Vande Bharat without banker locos
Since all about Vande Bharat Express trains has been covered via the above and many other threads, these posts are to highlight why the Madurai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express is a huge relief for many passengers and
1. showcase some sights enroute on board this train
2. highlight some points for improvement
3. help users of this train on what to expect on arrival at Bengaluru Cantt.
Why the Madurai – Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express is a relief for many passengers?
For long, the solitary daily train for passengers travelling from Bengaluru to Trichy was the Mysuru – Cuddalore Port Jn Express. This used to be an evening service, reaching Trichy in absolute wee hours. More than the timings, availability of tickets was a huge challenge, especially in AC classes. There was the Sriganganagar – Trichy weekly Humsafar Exp but getting to Banaswadi Station was a pain for many, especially elders. As alternatives, one would either have to drive down (6.5 hours ball park) or look from among the few bus operators (of which KSRTC operates services only in the night, Nuego being slow thanks to their long and unpredictable charging halt, and the only good operator Renganathan Travels operating an afternoon service). Many folks prefer trains over buses, and that is how a new train was badly needed
The Vande Bharat Express was introduced sometime in late 2024 and has proved a relief to many passengers on the Salem, Namakkal and Trichy sectors. However, relief for many comes with murmurs from another section, who crib about this train doing approx 100km extra because of the route via Trichy. Patronage has still not reached target levels and that is why the train still oeprates with just eight cars.
Likes
1. Trichy to Bengaluru Cantt., a 420km distance in under 6 hours in supreme comfort
2. Extremely neat set up with on-board catering
3. Some pleasing sights enroute, especially Trichy-Karur and Salem – Tirupattur
4. For those boarding this train at Bengaluru and who have opted for food, I think a meal is served immediately after departure, and for passengers headed to Madurai, dinner is also served after Tiruchirapalli
What needs improvement
1. On-board catering, especially beverages, snacks are all sugar loaded; I did see that there were “Diabetic” options when opting for food while booking, but not sure of how diabetic friendly these are
2. Lobby in each coach is littered with crates, packs, garbage bags – there is enough space to manage these well, but old habits die hard!
3. Newspapers and a bottle of water are costs billed to a passenger even if the No Food option is selected; however, only 500ml of water is given – small money but calling this out
4. Difficult experience on arriving at Bengaluru Cantonment (not related to the train per se)
Bhpian vigsom recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
The ride in pictures
Super clean Tiruchirapalli Jn. Just one sore point – multi-colour (red, pink and purple) coach indicators. I wish a bright unicolor (white or light green) had been chosen
Expansion bellow on the water line – good engineering
Beautiful green between Trichy and Karur
Platform at Namakkal – being spruced up
A new convenience in Vande Bharat Expresses – the sensor (the strip kind of thing) overhead detects someone standing and the door opens
A sight for everyone to see – Vande Bharat Express was stopped at a station until an EMU rolled in; experienced this again on another journey on the same train from Bengaluru to Trichy when Vande Bharat Express stopped and gave way to another express train
https://youtube.com/shorts/veEIwtswTK8
Continue readig BHPian vigsom’s review for more insights and information.
