At one time the Indian Railways was competing only with road travel. Now, it competes with airlines, says ICF General Manager BG Mallya. For a 350 km distance travel from Chennai to Bengaluru, it makes more sense to take a train. If you go to the Chennai airport, it is nearly two hours in advance; about one hour of flying time and from Devanahalli to Bengaluru city it takes another two hours. It is totally over five hours while in Vande Bharat the journey time is just four-and-a-half hours. One can take a train from the heart of the city in Chennai and reach the heart of the city in Bengaluru. It is very comfortable. And air fares have crashed. This is one of the gamechanging things that Vande Bharat has brought in. It is also safe to travel. Trains are any day safer than going by air, he says.