Travel from Bengaluru to Chennai in 4 hours: Indian railways to upgrade speed limits

Indian Railways' Vande Bharat Express will soon complete the Bengaluru-Chennai route in just four hours – 25 minutes faster than its current travel time.

The Shatabadi Express on the Bengaluru-Chennai route will also save 20 more minutes now, MoneyControl reported. Recent speed enhancements on the route will make these cuts in travel time possible.

According to the report, these changes are part of a broader effort by the South Western Railway (SWR) to increase train speeds on the high-demand corridor.

On December 5, the Bengaluru division carried out a speed trial on the Bengaluru-Jolarpettai section to assess the possibility of raising the speed limit from 110 km/h to 130 km/h. The revised speed will be implemented following approval from the commissioner of railway safety.

This upgrade will synchronize the entire Bengaluru-Chennai route, since the Chennai-Jolarpettai section already accommodates speeds of up to 130 kmph.

Which trains will benefit for this speed upgrade?

The speed limit upgrade will benefit two Vande Bharat and two Shatabdi trains operating daily on this high-density corridor. This route is crucial as it links Bengaluru's technology and startup centers with Chennai's automotive manufacturing and industrial areas.

New sleeper Vande Bharat trains

The first prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper trainset has been manufactured and will undergo field trials soon, the government informed Parliament on Friday.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Vande Bharat sleeper trains, planned for long and medium-distance journeys, are equipped with modern features and passenger amenities.

Vaishnaw highlighted some of the distinguished features and amenities of these trains, such as the automatic train protection system Kavach, latest fire-safety standards compliance, crashworthy and jerk-free semi-permanent couplers and anti-climbers, a regenerative braking system for energy efficiency, higher average speed with quick deceleration and acceleration, among others.

In August, three trains – in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka – were added to the network of more than 100 Vande Bharat Express trains that are operational, connecting more than 280 districts.