Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday, 1 November 2026, announced that the proposed South Bullet Train corridor will connect Bengaluru with Hyderabad, Amaravati, and Chennai, with the journey between Bengaluru and Chennai expected to take just 73 minutes and Bengaluru to Hyderabad approximately 2 hours 10 minutes. The announcement came during the flagging off of the Vande Bharat Sleeper service between Bengaluru and Mumbai, coinciding with Karnataka Rajyotsava.

South Bullet Train Corridor: Key Details

Vaishnaw said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the South Bullet Train corridor, which is designed to integrate major technology and economic centres across southern India and create a 'multiplier effect' for the region's states. The minister projected that the corridor would effectively merge the economic footprints of major southern cities. 'These two cities, Bengaluru and Chennai, will become one city,' he said, underlining the transformative potential of the proposed connectivity.

On the broader national bullet train vision, Vaishnaw said the Prime Minister has already approved 4,000 km of bullet train corridors across India, with an additional 3,000 km to be announced in the coming days. He also expressed confidence that the proposed Bengaluru-Pune bullet train corridor, covering the northern parts of Karnataka, would be realised.

Vande Bharat Expansion in Karnataka

Vaishnaw announced that a Vande Bharat train service between Bengaluru and Mangaluru would be launched within the coming weeks, once electrification and testing work on the route is completed. 'We will have a Mangaluru-Bengaluru Vande Bharat train. That will connect the entire region with very good, high-class connectivity,' he said.

A second Vande Bharat Sleeper service for Karnataka was also announced, which would run from Bengaluru through northern Karnataka, via Hubballi, before proceeding to Pune and Mumbai.

New Bengaluru-Mumbai Sleeper Route

The newly launched Vande Bharat Sleeper service between Bengaluru and Mumbai will travel via Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh, re-entering Karnataka through Raichur, Yadgir, and Kalaburagi before proceeding to Maharashtra. Vaishnaw said this route would bring rail connectivity to large parts of North Karnataka that had historically been underserved. The route was finalised after consultations with Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, H.D. Kumaraswamy, and V. Somanna.

Political Moment and Broader Vision

Vaishnaw framed the occasion — Karnataka's Rajyotsava — as an apt moment for the announcements, stating that the launch of the sleeper service was in keeping with the Prime Minister's directive to design modern rail services with the common man, middle-class families, youth, and women in mind. He highlighted the three-train framework — Namo Bharat, Amrit Bharat, and Vande Bharat — as the vehicle for this inclusive connectivity push.

Union Minister Joshi rose to congratulate Vaishnaw following the bullet train announcement, with both leaders joining hands and raising slogans of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'. With bullet train approvals, new Vande Bharat routes, and a landmark Sleeper service launch all announced on a single day, Karnataka's railway landscape is set for its most significant transformation in decades.