Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually flag off Inaugural Special Dharwad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express at Rani Kamlapati Railway Station in Bhopal on Tuesday.
At Dharwad Railway Station Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi are expected to be present along with other dignitaries, according to South Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Anees Hegde.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is likely to join the event via video link, he said.
The Dharwad-KSR Bengaluru Inaugural Special (train number 07305) will be flagged off at Dharwad at 10:30 am and depart for KSR Bengaluru five minutes later.
The train will have a travel time of 6 hours and 25 minutes, about 30 minutes shorter than before.
A trial run of the express train was held successfully on June 19 from Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Bengaluru station to Dharwad and back.
This will be the second Vande Bharat train that will be flagged off by Modi in Karnataka, after launching the Mysuru-Bengaluru-Chennai Vande Bharat train in November last year. It was the first Vande Bharat Express for southern India.
The commercial operations will commence from June 28 from both sides. It will run six days a week except Tuesday, Hegde said.
A ticket from KSR Bengaluru to SSS Hubballi would cost Rs 1,135 for AC Chair, and from Bengaluru to Dharwad would be Rs 1,165 for the same class.
It would cost Rs 2,180 for Executive Class from KSR Bengaluru to SSS Hubballi, and Rs 2,010 for the same class from KSR Bengaluru to Dharwad, Hegde said.
The train will depart KSR Bengaluru at 5.45 am and arrive at Hubballi at 11.30 am and Dharwad at 12.10 pm.
From Dharwad, the train will depart at 1.15 pm and arrive at KSR Bengaluru at 7.45 pm.