Vijayawada to Bengaluru Vande Bharat; Visakhapatnam Awaits Rail Boost

26 May 2025 CW Team

Indian Railways plans to launch a Vande Bharat Express between Vijayawada and Bengaluru, reducing travel time to nine hours, nearly three hours shorter than current timings. The train will mainly benefit pilgrims to Tirupati and other travellers.

Train number 20711 will operate six days a week, excluding Tuesdays, with eight coaches comprising seven air-conditioned chair cars and one executive chair car. It departs Vijayawada at 5:15, stopping at Tenali, Ongole, Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor, Katpadi, and Krishnarajapuram before reaching Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal Bengaluru at 14:15. The return journey leaves Bengaluru at 14:45.

Currently, the Kondaveedu Express runs thrice weekly on this route. Meanwhile, demand is rising for better rail connectivity between Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru, driven by tech professionals commuting between the two cities.

Fastest trains on this route, such as Anga Express and SMVT Bengaluru Superfast Express, take about seventeen hours, while the Prashanti Express now takes over 22 hours after its extension to Bhubaneswar. The absence of a dedicated direct train from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru has led to calls for a sleeper-class Vande Bharat Express via Tirupati and Chennai.

This overnight train, capable of speeds up to 180 kilometres per hour, would offer enhanced comfort, shorter travel time, and ease congestion between north Andhra Pradesh and Bengaluru.

Source: Yo! Vizag

Real Estate

31 Oct 2025

Birla Estates Tops Global GRESB 2025 Rankings

Birla Estates (BEPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Real Estate (formerly Century Textiles and Industries Limited), has been recognised as a Sector Leader in the 2025 GRESB Real Estate Assessment, securing top honours across multiple global and regional categories.Birla Estates’ Achievements in GRESB 2025:Global Sector Leader – ResidentialGlobal Sector Leader – Non-Listed ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Asia – ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Non-Listed – Asia – ResidentialThese distinctions reaffirm Birla Estates’ exceptional performance in Environmental, ..

Progota India Secures RDSO Clearance for Kavach 4.0

Concord Control Systems, one of India’s leading manufacturers of embedded electronic and critical system solutions, announced that its associate company, Progota India, has received Technical Prototype Clearance from the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for Kavach 4.0, the latest version of Indian Railways’ indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.With this clearance, Progota has been formally approved to execute its ongoing trial order from South Central Railway, marking a key milestone in India’s railway modernization journey. The approval also establishes P..

MPS Interactive Systems Completes Full Acquisition of Liberate Group

MPS Interactive Systems (MPSi), a material subsidiary of MPS, has completed the acquisition of the remaining shareholding in the Liberate Group of Companies—comprising Liberate Learning, App-eLearn, and Liberate eLearning.With this transaction, MPSi now holds 100 per cent ownership of all entities within the Liberate Group, making them its wholly owned subsidiaries. The acquisition was executed in line with the valuation methodology defined in the original transaction documents.Commenting on the development, Rahul Arora, Chairman and CEO of MPS, said, “The corporate learning sector continu..