Indian Railway plans to launch Vande Metro soon

After the nationwide success of Vande Bharat Express, Vande Bharat Metro is being introduced in various cities to facilitate inter-city travel for citizens.

Bengaluru, one of India's major cities, is one of the first cities to get the Vande Metro, according to South Western Railway (SWR) CEO Sanjeev Kishore. Ongoing railway projects in the city, including doubling and quadrupling of lines and construction of infrastructure for maintenance of Vande Bharat trains, will help in the launch of Vande Metro.

Vande Metro, a faster and longer lasting local train, will also serve cities within 100 km of Bengaluru such as Tumakuru and Hindupur.

No plans to build a terminal at Hejjala, Kishore said

Kishore said the yard conversion work at KSR Bengaluru railway station could be completed by June 2023, although there are no plans to construct a terminal at Hejjala. Meanwhile, Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager Shyam Singh said the railways will extend cooperation to improve access to SMVT Baiyappanahalli, but it is up to the BBMP to submit detailed plans.

No outstanding coordination issues between SWR and the Railway Infrastructure Development Corporation, Kishore said

“SWR has no outstanding coordination issues with the Railway Infrastructure Development Corporation (Karnataka) which is building the Bengaluru suburban rail project, though some complex issues need to be escalated to the zonal authorities,” Kishore said. SWR is also conducting a feasibility study of doubling the Yelahanka-Devanahalli line to improve transport options in the region, he added.