Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Kerala today to flag off the state’s first Vande Bharat Express, India’s fastest train run by the Indian Railways. The semi-high speed train in the God’s Own Country will run between Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod, covering 11 districts, including the important cities like Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur. The Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express will be India’s 15th semi-high speed train and aims to promote tourism and trade in the India’s southernmost state. Here’s all you need to know about the Kerala’s First Vande Bharat Express:
Kerala’s First Vande Bharat Express: Timings
The Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express train will run all day except on Thursdays. The Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express train will operate on the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Kasaragod route and will get train numbers 20634 and 20633 respectively. The semi-high speed train will take 8 hours 5 minutes to travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod as per the trial run and will depart from Thiruvananthapuram at 5.20 am and reach Kasaragod at 1.25 pm.
The train will depart from Kasaragod at 2.30 pm to return back to Thiruvananthapuram on the same day at around 10.35 PM. The bookings of the train were opened on Sunday morning and there are a total of 914 seats in the chair car and 86 seats in the executive chair car. While the flag off will take place on April 25, the train will begin its regular operation on the Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram route from April 26 and on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod corridor on April 28.
Kerala’s First Vande Bharat Express: Route
The train will start from Thiruvananthapuram at 5.20 am and will reach Kasaragod at 1.25 pm. In between, it will reach Kollam at 6.07 am, Kottayam at 7.25 am, Ernakulam Town at 8.17 am, Thrissur at 9.22 am, Shoranur at 10.02 am, Kozhikode at 11.03 am and Kannur at 12.03 pm. The Train will stop for three minutes at Ernakulam Town and two minutes at other stations.
Kerala’s First Vande Bharat Express: Fare
Travelling on the first Vande Bharat Express of the state will cost the passengers north of Rs 1,500 for all classes. The fare on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod route is Rs 1,590 for the Chair Car and Rs 435 for food. The fare on the same route is Rs 2,880 for Executive Class, and Rs 820 for food. The fare on the Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram route is Rs 1,520 (CC) and Rs 2,815 (EC).
Kerala’s First Vande Bharat Express vs Rajdhani Express
The Indian Railways has not revealed the top speed of the Vande Bharat Express on the Trivandrum Central to Kasaragod route. However, it its confirmed that the train will complete the journey from Trivandrum Central to Kasaragod in 8.05 hours, as compared to 9 hours taken by the Rajdhani on the same route. The pricing of the First AC and Executive Class of both trains is similar.
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