There is good news for train travellers between Chennai and Mysuru as the second exclusive Vande Bharat service connecting the two cities is to be introduced from April 5.

Currently, the Chennai to Mysuru Vande Bharat leaves Chennai Central at 5:50 am to reach Mysuru at 12:20 pm. On the return trip, the train leaves Mysuru at 13:05 hr to reach Chennai at 19:20 hr.

From April 4, the new service will leave Mysuru at 6 am to reach Chennai Central at 12.25 pm, and in the return direction, the train will leave Chennai Central at 5 pm to reach Mysuru at 11.20 pm, according to RN Singh, General Manager, Southern Railways.

The new service (except Wednesdays) is being introduced due to the good response to it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the service on Tuesday, which will run until Bengaluru on April 4, he told newspersons.

He said the stoppages between Chennai Central and Mysuru will be Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Krishnarajapuram, KSR Bengaluru, and Mandya.

Other rail services

Prime Minister Modi will also flag off the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod Vande Bharat Express extension up to Mangaluru Central. He will also flag off the Kollam-Tirupati Express. He added that these are part of 10 Vande Bharat trains and other rail services by the Prime Minister.

Singh said six new goods sheds in the SR will be inaugurated at Singaperumal Koil, Gangaiknodan, Theni, Pattukottai, Tirutaraipundi and Valiyur. There are already 109 goods sheds in Southern Railway, he said.

He added that the benefits include ease of freight loading and unloading, ample warehouse facilities, minimising detention of wagons, and hassle-free freight movement given the goods sheds’ proximity to agro and industrial hubs.

Singh said two Camtech (name of the design) pit lines of 24 LHB coach length in pit line NL 9 and NL 10 at Basin Bridge coaching yard have been commissioned at a cost of ₹56 crore. This will be useful for maintaining Vande Bharat coaches and coaches of other premium trains. He said the pit line grid had been isolated from the loco lines to ensure the free movement of locos for maintenance.

Financial performance

On the financial performance, Singh said Southern Railway’s earnings grew 9.3 per cent to ₹10,866 crore for the April-February period in FY24 against ₹9,943 crore during the same 11-months of last financial year. The earnings from passenger traffic were ₹6,506 crore (₹5,778 crore); goods were ₹3,326 crore (₹3,285 crore); other coaching that include ticket checking earnings and catering license fees was ₹520 crore (₹487 crore), and sundry was ₹514 crore (₹391 crore).

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