After decades of demanding a direct train to the state capital, Kalaburagi will finally get a train to Bengaluru. BJP MP Umesh Jadhav on Saturday, March 9 said that the Vande Bharat Express between Kalaburagi and Bengaluru will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 12. This is also the first Vande Bharat Express train to Kalyana Karnataka region.
The Kalaburagi-SMVT Bengaluru (Train No. 22231) Vande Bharat Express will depart from Kalaburagi at 5:15 am, reaching SMVT Bengaluru at 2 pm on all days except Fridays. The train will make stops at Raichur, Mantralayam Road, Guntakal, Anantapur, and Yelahanka.
On its return trip, the SMVT Bengaluru-Kalaburagi (Train No. 22232) Vande Bharat Express will commence its journey from SMVT Bengaluru at 2:40 pm, arriving in Kalaburagi at 11:30 pm on all days except Thursdays.
On February 8, Kalaburagi BJP MP Umesh Jadhav reiterated the pressing need for a dedicated train service linking Kalaburagi and Bengaluru in the Lok Sabha. Umesh cited RTI data in the Lok Sabha highlighting the substantial demand for increased services on this route, with daily ticket bookings averaging 3,262 from Bengaluru to Kalaburagi and 2,100 in the reverse direction in 2022-2023.
He also highlighted the worsening situation due to the systematic reduction in seat quotas for trains such as the Basava Express and Solapur-Hassan Express. For example, the Basava Express, originating from Bagalkot, only reserves eight seats for Kalaburagi passengers, prompting individuals to secure tickets from preceding stations and modify their boarding locations accordingly.
Despite persistent demands by activists and the availability of data supporting the demand, requests for a dedicated train service had remained unanswered. Kalaburagi also received negligible budget allocations of a mere Rs 1,000 from the Union government in February this year, marking the fifth consecutive year of underinvestment.