PM Modi flags off Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express on Saturday, along with three other trains in the category, in an online event from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

The Ernakulam Junction-KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express (06652), decked with flowers and balloons, left the station here for the inaugural ride at 8.41 am amid the sound of Chendamelam.

Addressing the event, Mr. Modi said trains like Vande Bharat, Namo Bharat, and Amrit Bharat are laying the foundation for the next generation of Indian Railways. Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Union Ministers of State Suresh Gopi and George Kurian, State Industries Minister P. Rajeeve, Hibi Eden MP, T.J. Vinod MLA and Mayor M. Anilkumar were among the dignitaries who connected through videoconferencing from here to the event.

Timings

The Ernakulam–Bengaluru Vande Bharat is expected to reduce travel time by over 2 hours, completing the journey in 8 hours 40 minutes.

The service will cover major cities of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, including Thrissur, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, and Salem, before reaching Krishnarajapuram and KSR Bengaluru.

The pair of trains will start regular operations from November 11 on six days a week, except Wednesday. The KSR Bengaluru – Ernakulam Jn Vande Bharat Express (26651) is scheduled to leave KSR Bengaluru at 05.10 a.m. and reach Ernakulam Jn at 1.50 p.m., the same day. In return direction, Train No. 26652 Ernakulam Jn – KSR Benglauru Vande Bharat Express will leave Ernakulam Jn at 2.20 p.m. and reach KSR Bengaluru at 11 p.m.

Land a must: Suresh Gopi

Speaking to reporters onboard the train, Mr. Gopi called the Vande Bharat trains a revolution on rails. He said the only hurdle in introducing more trains to Kerala was the doubling of the tracks and straightening of the sharp curves on the existing ones.

“If there are more tracks, more trains will come. If the dangerous and sharp curves are straightened, the high-speed trains can come. The speeds of other trains will increase, and smaller trains will have more stops. The Railway is ready for anything, but the State government will have to provide the land and get the sharp curves straightened,” he said.

Children from various schools selected on the basis of a drawing competition and officials from various departments were onboard the train along with other dignitaries.

12th Vande Bharat of Southern Railway

The newly introduced train is the third Vande Bharat service for Kerala and the first inter-State Vande Bharat connecting Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Southern Railway now operates 12 pairs of Vande Bharat services within its jurisdiction.

In addition to the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat, the prime minister flagged off the Banaras-Khajuraho Vande Bharat, Firozpur-Delhi Vande Bharat and the Lucknow-Saharanpur Vande Bharat. With the new trains, the total number of operational Vande Bharat trains in the country has now exceeded 160.