New way to reach Bengaluru airport under ₹35 from Friday: Memu express special trains
The South Western Railway has introduced five new pairs of MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) trains from Bengaluru, which will take you as close as 3.5 kilometres away from the Kempegowda International Airport with fares at ₹30 to ₹35 per head.
In a major relief for frequent flyers in Bengaluru, the commute between the city and the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has been made easier and significantly economical by the introduction of five new MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) trains by the South Western Railway (SWR), which will be operational starting Friday, i.e. July 29.
MEMU trains are electric multiple unit trains that serve short and medium-distance routes across India. The SWR announced the details of the new trains on Twitter, writing, “In order to provide additional connectivity to Kempegowda International Airport, #Bengaluru additional MEMU U/R Express Special services are introduced as detailed below.”
This will be a significantly cheaper commute option for passengers as the Bengaluru airport express train fare is set at Rs. 30 - Rs. 35 per head. This compares to BMTC Vayu Vajra’s average fare of around Rs. 230 and cab fares through ride-hailing apps that can reach up to Rs. 600 and more.
Operational difficulties had kept the SWR from making use of the Yelahanka-Devanahalli-Chikkaballapur line sooner. This section's electrification was commissioned nearly four months ago, and is being used for the first time to run services to KIA today.
The five trains are:
- 06531/06532 KSR Bengaluru City-Devanahalli-KSR Bengaluru
- 06533/06534 Devanahalli-Yelahanka-Devanahalli,
- 06535/06536 Devanahalli-Cantonment-Devanahalli,
- 06537/06538 Devanahalli-Cantonment -Devanahalli and
- 06539/06540 Devanahalli-Yelahanka-Devanahalli.
These trains are set to run for six days a week, with no services on Sundays. All of them will stop at the halt station which is around 3.5 kilometres away from KIA. This halt station was built by the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of the Bengaluru airport to make commute easier for both airport employees and passengers. The BIAL also runs a free shuttle service between the halt station and the airport terminal.
This is the second time the SWR has introduced trains to the KIA. It's first attempt of launching five pairs of DEMU - Diesel Electric Multiple Unit - trains to the airport in 2021 was stopped after it received less-than-anticipated takers.