LoP in state Assembly VD Satheesan also pointed out that the Kasaragod district in Kerala had limited railway access.
Kerala Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan. (Facebook)
The Congress-led UDF Opposition in Kerala on Sunday, 16 April, urged the Central government to extend the route of the proposed Vande Bharat Express in the state to Mangaluru in Karnataka so that people from Kerala’s northernmost district of Kasaragod could also benefit from it.
In a letter to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly VD Satheesan sought the route extension to ensure “overall high-speed railway connectivity in the state”.
Satheesan said that as per media reports, the existing route of the proposed Vande Bharat Express was from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur, leaving out the northernmost district of Kasaragod.
“Please note that Kasaragod forms part of the existing railway system in the state and could have been seamlessly incorporated into the existing route of the Vande Bharat Express without much pain. Leaving out the northern district of Kasaragod is considered a grave injustice to the people of Kasaragod,” the LoP said.
Satheesan also pointed out that Kasaragod was a district in Kerala that had limited railway access, and that much more needed to be done to bring it up to par with other districts in the state.
“Extending the Vande Bharat Express to the Mangaluru station will improve overall connectivity between the state’s southern and northernmost regions and be of great help to the people of Kasargod,” he said.
As the tracks in the state have many curves, which would impede the Vande Bharat Express from running at its maximum speed, he urged the Union railway minister to prevail upon the authorities to take necessary steps to correct “high-impact curves”.
The entry of the Vande Bharat Express into Kerala on Friday created a political uproar in the state as the government was not informed by the railways about it.
However, various reports suggested that the BJP leadership in Kerala was aware of it.
Leaders of the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala slammed the move, claiming that it was a ploy by the saffron party to infiltrate the minds of Keralites.
According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the train on 25 April, after the scheduled trial run is completed.
The train, which is scheduled to start its journey at 5 am after its inauguration, is expected to reach Kannur from Thiruvananthapuram in a span of six to six-and-a-half hours.
With 16 coaches, it will have six stops in Kerala between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur: Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode, and Kannur.
Even though the speed of Vande Bharat Express is 160 km/hour, it is expected to run through Kerala at a speed of 100 km/hour, officials said.
However, most Vande Bharats run at average speeds of between 75-85 km per hour.
(With PTI inputs)
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