Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off three new Vande Bharat Express services from KSR Bengaluru Railway Station, marking another step forward in India’s high-speed rail expansion.

Modi physically inaugurated the much-anticipated Bengaluru–Belagavi Vande Bharat Express and virtually launched the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra–Amritsar and Ajni (Nagpur)–Pune services. Before the departure, he toured the Bengaluru–Belagavi train, interacting with schoolchildren and encouraging them to aim high. He also met with loco pilots, praising their role in advancing the nation’s modern railway system.

The 611 km Bengaluru–Belagavi journey will now take 8 hours and 30 minutes, reducing travel time by around 1 hour and 20 minutes in one direction and 1 hour and 40 minutes in the reverse, compared to current services. With this launch, Karnataka now operates 11 Vande Bharat services.