Vande Bharat Express reaches Kerala, to run from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur in 6 hours

Several people, especially BJP workers, gathered at the railway station to welcome the train. They welcomed the train by garlanding railway employees and distributing sweets.

The train will be reaching Kochuveli in the Thiruvananthapuram district by Friday evening.

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.

The train, with 16 coaches, 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.

First visuals of #VandeBharatExpress entering Kerala@PMOIndia@narendramodi @AshwiniVaishnaw @raosahebdanve @DarshanaJardosh @RailMinIndia @GMSRailway @MIB_India @PIB_India#VandeBharat pic.twitter.com/1FDVxt786j

— PIB in KERALA (@PIBTvpm) April 14, 2023

Also read: PM Modi flags off Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express

MoS thanks PM

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav for introducing the train in Kerala.

“The prime minister always announces various developmental programmes for Kerala each time he visits the state. He announced packages worth around ₹4,500 crore last time. New announcements are expected this time,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

He also said the Vande Bharat train would help to increase the pace of development in Kerala.

He also took a dig at the state government regarding its proposed high-speed train — SilverLine.

“Development initiatives are not undertaken by evacuating thousands from their land. That is the difference between the SilverLine and the Vande Bharat Express. The introduction of Vande Bharat once again proves that SilverLine is impractical,” he said.

Also read: Uncertainty over SilverLine as Central minister says no approval granted

Dead end for SilverLine?

Earlier, replying to Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden in Lok Sabha, Ashwini Vaishaw clarified that the Union government had not sanctioned the Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod rail project. Hence, the question of it being delayed did not arise, the minister said.

The two cities are at opposite ends of the linear state with a population of 3.45 crore. The project was envisaged to traverse the 529.45 km between Thiruvananthapuram in the south and Kasaragod in the north in four hours.

Vaishnaw said the project’s financial viability could be examined only after the finalisation of technical parameters, and the project’s consideration depended upon its techno-economic viability.

The Central minister also revealed that the state government’s Detailed Project Report (DPR), submitted to his ministry, had insufficient technical feasibility details. In-principle approval was granted only for the pre-investment activities.

The approval was for the preparation of the DPR with complete details of the project, including financials, the minister informed the Lok Sabha.