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.

Updated on: Jul 29, 2022, 09:37:56 IST

By Yamini C S | Edited by Poulomi Ghosh

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

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.

The Memu express special trains will have eight cars and the train fares will be at ₹30 to ₹35 per head. (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT PHOTO)

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yamini C S
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.Read More

Get the latest City News, local updates, weather alerts and breaking stories from Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and other major cities across India on Hindustan Times.