Belagavi-Bengaluru Vande Bharat: Railway min repeats assurances, but no timeline yet
The minister repeated his assurance during the visit of Rajya Sabha member Iranna Kadadi, along with Union minister Pralhad Joshi and minister of railways for the state V Somanna, in New Delhi on Thursday, to follow up on the long-pending demand for the train.
"The permission was already granted. We are waiting for the availability of coaches. The train will commence operations as soon as they are allocated," Vaishnaw stated, according to Kadadi.
However, repeated assurances without concrete action have left citizens disillusioned. On May 6, Union minister Pralhad Joshi officially announced the sanction of a dedicated Vande Bharat Express between Belagavi and Bengaluru after consultations with the railway minister. Since then, MPs including Jagadish Shettar and Iranna Kadadi have made multiple representations to the ministry, but each time the response has remained the same.
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In Nov 2023, the Railways successfully conducted a trial run of an 8-coach Vande Bharat train between Dharwad and Belagavi. At the beginning of 2024, officials proposed extending the existing Bengaluru–Dharwad service to Belagavi. In May 2025, the railway ministry announced a dedicated train service instead, which was widely welcomed by the public.
Despite the excitement and public celebrations that followed, more than two months have passed since the announcement, and there is still no confirmed date for the launch.
In response to mounting public pressure, Belagavi's elected representatives continue to pursue the matter with the railway minister, but there no official guarantee or schedule has been given by the ministry.
Meanwhile, Kadadi said the railway minister also assured that the Belagavi–Miraj special train will be converted into a regular passenger service within a month. In a public statement, he added that Vaishnaw also promised to personally visit Ghataprabha railway station following complaints of poor-quality construction work there.
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