Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on October 8 announced that the Bengaluru-Ernakulam Vande Bharat Express will begin operations by mid-November.
“Had a virtual meeting with the @BJP4Keralam team and district presidents. Glad to share that @RajeevRC_X ji’s proposal for Vande Bharat Express between Ernakulam & Bengaluru has been considered and is set to launch by mid-November. Also shared information about the operation of 488 festive special trains in the state to ease travel,” Vaishnaw said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Also, read: Nearly a year after unveiling, first Vande Bharat sleeper train yet to start passenger service
Welcoming the announcement, Kerala BJP president and former Union minister of state Rajeev Chandrasekhar expressed gratitude to the Centre for approving the new service.
“Grateful to the Central Government for approving the Vande Bharat train service from Ernakulam to Bengaluru via Thrissur and Palakkad. Bengaluru employs a large number of Malayalis, especially in the IT sector. For a long time, there has been a strong demand for more train services from Kerala to Bengaluru,” Chandrasekhar wrote on X.
He added that he had brought the matter to the attention of Vaishnaw a month ago, and thanked the railway minister for the 'swift and favorable decision.'
“This new Vande Bharat service will be a great relief for Malayalis traveling to Bengaluru. Currently, the route experiences heavy traffic during festive seasons and on special occasions, forcing many to pay exorbitant fares for alternative modes of transport. Once again, heartfelt thanks to the Modi Government for taking a decision that supports Kerala’s overall infrastructure development,” he said.
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