One of the two Vande Bharat Express rakes that was allotted to Kerala, and which has crossed over to Palakkad from Chennai on Friday morning, is expected to reach Kochuveli in Thiruvananthapuram by late evening. The 13th Vande Bharat rake has 16 AC coaches.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to flag off the keenly-awaited train from Thiruvananthapuram on April 25, during his two-day visit to the State. It is expected to operate in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur corridor.
Could replace Janshatabdi express
The unexpected arrival of the rake in Kerala comes in the wake of Railway Board approving its operation, in a communication sent to Southern Railway headquarters in Chennai. The train that can operate at a speed of up to 160 kmph could replace the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur Janshatabdi Express which operates with limited number of AC coaches.
Earlier this month, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had expressed disappointment at the Railway not allotting Kerala’s due share of Vande Bharat trains.
GM’s inspection
In a related development, General Manager of Southern Railway, R.N. Singh arrived in Thiruvananthapuram from Chennai in a special train, to inspect railway infrastructure and major stations in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode corridor. “Having completed inspection of Kollam station by 12.30 pm, he is expected to reach Ernakulam and end his inspection at Kozhikode station by 3.45 pm. En route, he would inspect station-redevelopment projects in among others, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. A section window train would trail his special train, for safety inspection on the corridor,” Railway sources said.
The construction wing of Railway had during the past couple of years been engaged in a process of reinforcing rails, while allied infrastructure like signal systems were being upgraded in the busy corridor, to enable faster movement of trains in Kerala, where the average speed of trains was less than 50 kmph. This is being done in tandem with reduction in number of stops of express trains.
