Chennai to Bangalore: For once, trains are faster

Chennai: Flying is no longer the fastest way to get to Bangalore since the opening of the new airport.
With flights being delayed at Chennai airport and poor road connectivity from the new Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to the city centre, many travellers are finding that taking the train to Silicon Valley is faster. The new airport at Devanahalli in Bangalore is about 35 km from the centre of the city.
A railway official said the increased bookings on Shatabdi Express from Chennai Central show more people now prefer taking a train, though it takes nearly five hours to cover the 300-km distance by rail. There is tremendous demand for seats on virtually all Bangalore-bound trains and even tatkal quotas are sold out within hours.
On the other hand, airline tickets are freely available on this sector even at an hour’s notice. There are flights virtually every hour and they currently see an average 50-60% occupancy.
Apart from the difference in fares, one of the reasons for Flights taking off half-empty is that the time saved by flying is now virtually off-set by the time spent waiting or on travelling to and fro from airports at both ends. "Flights out of Chennai airport are often delayed. This is a further waste of time," said M Vignesh, an IT consultant who travels to Bangalore often.
27/05/08 Times of India

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Categories: Airports May 2008