Advance ticket booking for Vistadome train for Sept-Oct holidays already on

Bengaluru: In the wake of the festival season commencing, people have turned their attention to the tourist spots of the coastal side, and the seats of the ambitious Vistadome coaches of the Railway Department have been filled 100 percent in advance.

People who want to sit in the Vistadome coaches and see the scenic natural beauty of the Western Ghats, have reserved their seats in advance. As compared to last year, this time the number of Vistadome seat bookings is more than expected. Vistadome is in demand due to rainy season on one hand and public holidays on the other. 100 per cent seats were filled till the end of May, June, July, August.

There is a 30% waiting list during weekends and festivals. Advance booking of seats for Navratri, Diwali holidays and weekend has already started. One has to pay Rs 1,525 for a ticket to travel in Vistadome coach on Bangalore-Mangalore route. A train has 88 seats of 44 each in 2 coaches.

Earlier, due to high cost of travel many people used to travel in ordinary coaches from Bangalore to Sakleshpur and then choose Vistadome coach from Sakleshpur to Mangalore. But currently the seats are being filled from Bangalore itself. Due to this, it is not possible to enjoy sitting in the Vistadome coach in the between railway stations for lesser amount.

The train route

Vistadome train will ply on Bangalore – Mangalore route every Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday and Mangalore – Yeshwantpur route on Monday, Tuesday, Friday. In addition, trains with Vistadome coaches are plying on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays on Mangalore-Yeshwantpur route and Yeshwantpur-Karwar route.

The Vistadome train on the Yeshwantpur-Mangalore route started running in the month of July 2021. Although the initial response was good, later the passenger response was not as good as expected. By February 2022, 20 percent of the seats on the Bangalore route and 30 percent on the Sakaleshpur-Mangalore route were filled. During weekends and festive holidays, seats in Vistadome coaches are fully booked in advance. Waiting list number is high. Advance ticket booking for September and October holidays has already started said, Kusuma Hariprasad, Divisional Railway Manager, South Western Railway to a media.