New Vande Bharat Express to connect Bengaluru and Goa from November 13
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Yesvantpur-Madgaon service, which will begin regular operations on November 15, 2026.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will flag off the new Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Goa Vande Bharat Express on November 13, 2026, according to reports from The Hindu and Economic Times. The inaugural ceremony will see the Prime Minister flagging off the service from Bengaluru, while the Railway Minister performs the same from Mangaluru Junction.
Regular services for the Yesvantpur-Madgaon route will commence on November 15, 2026. Train number 26655 will depart Yesvantpur at 7:35 am and reach Madgaon at 8:55 pm, operating daily except on Wednesdays. The return service, train number 26656, will depart Madgaon at 8:20 am and arrive at Yesvantpur at 9:15 pm, running daily except on Thursdays.
The service will cover approximately 671 km with 12 halts, including Shravanabelagola, Hassan, Sakleshpur, Subrahmanya Road, Kabakaputtur, Mangaluru Junction, Udupi, Kundapura, Mookambika Road Byndoor, Murdeshwar, Gokarna Road, and Karwar. The journey is expected to take around 13 hours and 20 minutes.
The Hindu reported that passengers may pay nearly ₹200 more in chair car compared to the same distance on other Vande Bharat services. This is attributed to fares inflating the distance by 40 per cent on the Konkan Railway network between Thokur and Madgaon, and 100 per cent on the 55 km Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section.
The service follows the completion of electrification on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route in December 2025. This new route is expected to be the longest-duration Vande Bharat chair car service in India, with an average speed of 54 kmph in the down direction and 53 kmph in the up direction.