Railway authorities have granted permission to increase train speeds between Arakkonam and Jolarpettai, reducing travel time between Bengaluru and Chennai.In good news for frequent travellers between Karnataka capital Bengaluru and Chennai city, Railway authorities have approved the increase in train speeds between the Arakkonam and Jolarpettai stations, which will reduce travel time between the two cities to just four hours, a report said.
Train speeds have been increased from 110 kilometre per hour (kmph) to 130 kmph on the 144 km stretch, and this is set to benefit trains heading towards Bengaluru. Authorities were reportedly waiting on taking the decision till the ongoing track and signal works were completed.
The revision of speeds is expected to save passengers 25 to 30 minutes. The Railways authorities in a circular said a total of 124 trains with the Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches are now permitted to run at the new speed of 130 kmph between Arakkonam and Jolarpettai from next week onwards. Trains that are equipped with the ICF-design coaches will run at the speed of 110 kmph due to safety reasons.
The semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express will complete the travel 25 minutes sooner, with travel time dropping from four hours and 25 minutes to four hours. Meanwhile, other trains including the Shatabdi and the Brindavan Express will take 30 minutes less for the travel, with travel time inching down from six hours to five and a half hours.
The report quoted an official as saying that other trains heading to Bengaluru will also gradually be allowed to shift to higher speeds on the stretch as ongoing projects are completed.

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari had said last year in August that the upcoming Bengaluru-Chennai expressway will drastically impact travel time between the two metropolitan cities, bringing it down to only two hours.