Indian Railways (IR) has planned to commence the Vande Bharat Express train service on the Mumbai-Mangaluru route, which will cover the total distance in about 12 hours.
The occupancy rate for the existing Vande Bharat service on the Mumbai-Goa route has reduced to 70 per cent from the initial 90 per cent, while it remains at 40 per cent on the Mangaluru-Goa route. Therefore, to enhance the occupancy rate on these routes, IR plans to facilitate direct connectivity by integrating the two routes.