Bengaluru-Kannur Express extended to Kozhikode

Southern Railway has agreed to a long-standing demand from the people of Malabar by extending the Kannur–Bengaluru Express (16511/16512) to Kozhikode.

The train, which runs via Mangaluru, will operate up to Kozhikode from Sunday (March 15), bringing relief to passengers from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

Train No. 16511 will depart from Bengaluru at 9.35 p.m. and arrive at Kozhikode at 12.40 p.m. the following day. On the return journey, train no. 16512 will leave Kozhikode at 3.30 p.m. and reach Bengaluru at 6.35 a.m.

With the extension, the service will be renamed the Kozhikode–Bengaluru Express. However, the train’s schedule will remain unchanged. It will continue to arrive in Kannur from Bengaluru at 10.55 a.m. The train departing Kozhikode will reach Kannur at 5 p.m. and leave for Bengaluru at 5.05 p.m.

Apart from its existing halts, the train will now have stops at Thalassery, Vadakara and Koyilandy.

Sirajudheen Ellathodi, a member of the Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC), said the extension was the result of a long-pending demand. He said that he had raised the proposal on behalf of the Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the last ZRUCC meeting.

According to him, the extension will improve rail connectivity between Kozhikode and Bengaluru and benefit thousands of business and leisure travellers.

“This will further strengthen Kozhikode’s connectivity with a major commercial and IT hub,” said Mr. Ellathodi.

The Railway Board approved the extension of the train to Kozhikode despite objections from passenger groups in Karnataka. Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao had opposed the move, arguing that it would reduce seat availability for passengers from coastal Karnataka.

Passenger groups in Karnataka had also contended that Kozhikode was already well connected to Bengaluru by a daily train and a weekly service, besides other connecting trains passing via Palakkad.

Train No. 16511/16512 originally operated between Bengaluru and Mangaluru. The service was extended to Kannur in 2009 following the intervention of former Minister of State for Railways E. Ahamed.