Christmas Rush: Bengaluru-Ernakulam Vande Bharat is fully booked. india news

Vande Bharat Express between Bengaluru and Ernakulam has become one of the most sought-after routes this festive season, with tickets being bought weeks in advance. Even with there still 20 days to go until Christmas, trains on key dates are already fully booked, and the waiting list has turned into a long, worrying queue for passengers hoping to visit family or take a holiday during the holidays.

Congestion has led to demand from passengers for more capacity and even additional service on the route.

Festive Rush Pack Out Vande Bharat

As Christmas and New Year are approaching, people traveling from Bengaluru to Kerala have started taking trains and buses in large numbers. In this region, Vande Bharat Express has increasingly emerged as a preferred choice due to its shorter journey time, superior comfort and convenient timings.

However, surge in demand means Bengaluru-Ernakulam Vande Bharat tickets are sold out well ahead of schedule. Passengers checking seats found that not only were all berths blocked, but a long waiting list was also forming, especially for dates close to Christmas.

The situation has left many prospective passengers unsure whether they will get confirmed tickets or will be forced to transfer to other trains, buses or flights at higher costs.

No ticket for outbound and return journey

The situation is tense on both sides. Tickets from Bengaluru to Ernakulam are no longer available in Vande Bharat Express between 20th to 25th December. At the same time, those planning to return from Ernakulam to Bengaluru after the holidays are also finding it difficult to secure reservations.

Seats for the return leg between December 28 and January 4 have been filled, with new bookings not possible on most of these days. This effectively blocks the most important festive window for many travelers who fly home to Kerala from Bengaluru for Christmas and return just before work resumes in January.

Passengers demand more coaches and additional service

Currently, Bengaluru-Ernakulam Vande Bharat Express runs with 8 coaches. Considering the demand level, passengers are urging the authorities to double it to 16 coaches to accommodate more passengers during peak hours.

Some passengers have also demanded additional Vande Bharat service on the same sector, at least as a temporary measure for the festive season. The current combination of popular high-speed trains, limited capacity and huge demand is frustrating many regular passengers, especially those who planned well in advance but still could not secure seats.

When does the train run and how long does it take

KSR Bengaluru-Ernakulam Vande Bharat Express entered regular service on 11 November. It runs on all days of the week except Wednesdays and completes the journey in approximately 8 hours and 40 minutes, making it an attractive option compared to slower trains or overnight buses.

The train from Bengaluru leaves KSR station at 5:10 am and reaches Ernakulam Junction at 1:50 pm. On the return journey, it leaves Ernakulam at 2:20 pm and returns to Bengaluru at around 11:00 pm. For many travelers, these times offer a full day’s travel with enough margin to connect to local transport at either end.

major stops along the route

The Vande Bharat service between Bengaluru and Ernakulam stops at several important cities in both Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The route includes stops at Krishnarajapurm, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Palakkad and Thrissur, connecting major industrial, commercial and residential centers en route.

These stops mean that the train serves not only last mile passengers, but also a large number of people traveling between intermediate cities, putting further pressure on the limited seat availability during the peak season.

Popularity meets capacity constraints

As part of the larger implementation of the new Vande Bharat services across the country, the train was flagged off by the Prime Minister via video conference from Varanasi. Since then, the Bengaluru-Ernakulam train has increasingly gained a loyal passenger base, especially among people traveling between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala for work, family and religious occasions.

However, Christmas-time booking patterns have highlighted the gap between demand and available capacity. Unless more coaches or additional services are introduced, passengers may have to plan even earlier or rely on other modes of transport during peak travel periods.

For now, the message to regular passengers on this route is clear: the demand for Bengaluru-Ernakulam Vande Bharat is so high that waiting till the last minute is no longer an option.