The Railways has announced that the MEMU train between Mysuru and Bengaluru will now run six days a week (Monday-Saturday).
The train was introduced at the start of the year and was greeted with much fanfare among the passengers. Before this the train was running four days a week— every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
This new schedule will start from July 27 with an inaugural special train with revised timings.
Now the Bengaluru-Mysuru train leaves at 5:20 pm instead of 7:50 pm and reaches at 8:20 pm instead of 10 pm, Similarly, the Mysuru-Bengaluru train will leave Mysuru at 8:30 pm instead of 11.05 pm and arrive at Bengaluru at 11:20 pm instead of 01:50 am.
The train is a boon to people living in Mandya, Maddur, Channapatna and other parts of the stretch as well who regularly travel to either of the two cities. This will also help those living in Mysuru Road suburbs of Nayandahalli, Kengeri and Hejjala in Bengaluru as well.
At a flat fare of Rs 30 per passenger, one can reach Mysuru from Bengaluru’s Majestic in just short of three hours. The return journey will take a little less than four hours at a top speed up to 110km/hr for the whole journey.
These trains stop at Krishnadevaraya Halt, Nayandahalli, Jnanabharathi Halt, Kengeri, Hejjala, Bidadi, Ketohalli Halt, Ramanagaram, Channapattana, Mandya, Pandavapura and Srirangapattana.
MEMU, or Mainline Electric Multiple Unit, provides an average increase in speed of 20km/hour compared to loco-hauled commuter trains pulled by a separate engine. While MEMus are a preferred mode for suburban trains, it was not common in this part of the railway network as it was fully electrified only in 2018.