The trial run of the Vande Bharat Express by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Ministry of Railways, on the recently electrified 55-km Sakleshpur–Subrahmanya Road ghat section is expected to take place in the last week of June.

All trains operating through the ghat section, part of the Hassan–Mangaluru railway line, are mandated to run at a maximum speed of 30 kmph, in accordance with directions issued by the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Consequently, the Railway Ministry has stipulated that the Vande Bharat rake deployed on the section should be equipped with an Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system. If the train exceeds the prescribed speed limit, the AEB system will automatically reduce the speed to the permitted level.

“One such rake is being fitted with the AEB system at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. We are expecting its arrival next week, following which the RDSO will conduct the trials,” said Mudit Mittal, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of South Western Railway’s Mysuru Division.

Mr. Mittal told The Hindu that the RDSO trials, which began in the second week of June, comprised three components for passenger trains: trials with a rake of ICF coaches, a rake of Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coaches, and a rake of Vande Bharat coaches.

He said the organisation had already completed trials with a full train of ICF coaches and was expected to submit a formal report to the Ministry soon. “As far as the Division is concerned, the trials were conducted smoothly without any hitch, and the required parameters were met,” Mr. Mittal said.

The DRM noted that a total of five trips were conducted through the ghat section by the RDSO over five days. This would be followed by trials using an LHB rake by the end of the current week, he added.

The successful completion of the trials and the subsequent recommendation by the RDSO to the Railway Ministry to permit the operation of electric locomotive-hauled trains on the section would pave the way for introducing the much-hyped Vande Bharat Express between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, as well as to other parts of coastal Karnataka.

Railway electrification (RE) on the ghat section was completed on December 28, 2025, by RITES (formerly Rail India Technical and Economic Services) Ltd. RITES executed RE works on about 400 km of railway lines in South Western Railway, including the 300-km Mysuru–Hassan–Mangaluru line.