Amalgamation of Mangalore-Madgaon & Mumbai CSMT-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express Opposed

The amalgamation of Mangalore-Madgaon and Mumba CSMT-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express services has been opposed by Mumbai-based Konkan Vikas Samithi stating that such a move will adversely affect seat availability between Mumbai and Madgaon.

Samithi founder and chairman Jayawant Shankar Darekar said that there is no objection to extending Train No. 20645/20646 Mangalore Central-Madgaon-Mangalore Central Vande Bharat Express to Mumbai as a standalone service. Train No. 22229/230 Mumbai CSMT-Madgaon-Mumbai CSMT Vande Bharat Express, records up to 100% occupancy and is in need of capacity augmentation to a 16-car rake to fulfil the demand in this section. Extending it to Mangalore would exacerbate the situation, potentially leaving passengers from Mumbai-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg-Goa section without sufficient seats.