Bengaluru to Goa by Vande Bharat Starts This Week, and It Takes the Coastal Route

One of India’s most popular leisure trips, from Bengaluru to the beaches of Goa, is getting a faster daytime-style train option. Indian Railways has approved a new Vande Bharat Express between Yesvantpur, also known as SMVT Bengaluru, and Madgaon in Goa, according to the Hubballi Times. Rather than heading north through the interior, the train takes a western route through the Western Ghats and down to Mangaluru before running up the Karnataka coast, opening up direct semi-high-speed service to a string of coastal towns along the way.

The inaugural special runs on Friday, November 13, 2026. Train 06512 is scheduled to leave SMVT Bengaluru at 1:30 p.m. and reach Madgaon at 2:55 a.m. the next morning. Its listed stops include Shravanabelagola, Hassan, Sakleshpur, Subrahmanya Road, Kabakaputtur, Mangaluru Junction, Udupi, Kundapura, Mookambika Road Byndoor, Murdeshwar, Gokarna Road and Karwar. That list reads like a travel itinerary of its own, with temple towns, hill country and beach destinations such as Gokarna and Murdeshwar.

Regular service begins on November 15. Train 26655 will run from Yesvantpur to Madgaon six days a week, skipping Wednesdays, while Train 26656 returns from Madgaon six days a week, skipping Thursdays. The train has 16 coaches split between Chair Car and Executive Chair Car, the standard Vande Bharat layout with reclining seats rather than sleeper berths. Fares and the full regular timetable in each direction were not included in the report, so those details still need to be confirmed.

For travelers, the appeal is a single seat from India’s tech capital to the Konkan coast, with the option to break the journey at Udupi, Gokarna or Karwar. The trade-off is that it is a chair-car train on a long route, so it suits travelers who want to see the Ghats by daylight more than those hoping to sleep. Anyone planning a winter beach trip should check timings and book through IRCTC, as new Vande Bharat services often sell out quickly in their first weeks.

Sources: Hubballi Times