Bengaluru: The Yeswantpur-Kacheguda Vande Bharat Express, which connects Bengaluru and Hyderabad, will no longer run on Fridays. The South Central Railway (SCR), which operates the service, has shifted the train’s maintenance day from Wednesdays to Fridays.The semi-high speed service, operating six days a week, departs Kacheguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad at 5.45am, arriving at Yeswantpur at 2pm. The return service from Yeswantpur starts at 2.45pm, reaching Kacheguda at 11pm.According to SCR, the service has an average occupancy of 85% in both directions.“This move is not going to reflect well for rail travellers; there are people who depend on Vande Bharat to reach their destination faster,” SM Ganesh, a frequent rail commuter, said.Sanjeev Dyamannavar, a city-based rail enthusiast, added: “Already there is a lack of end-to-end trains on the route. The railways should change this decision and allocate another Vande Bharat between these two capital cities. This situation will force people to depend on the expensive private buses.”However, SCR officials said that this change is a stopgap arrangement to manage the heavy maintenance load in Hyderabad. “It is true that a lot of people depend on this train, but I want to tell them that it is temporary and will be back to the previous schedule as soon as possible,” SCR chief public relations officer A Sridhar told TOI.The KSR Bengaluru-Ernakulam Superfast Express was downgraded to the express category, which would reduce the average speed of the journey, upsetting those travelling to Kerala.
