With the Railway Board yet to take a final call on introducing Vande Bharat Express service in the lucrative Ernakulam-Bengaluru corridor, the demand is rife to extend the Bengaluru-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express to Ernakulam.
Passenger associations have been demanding this, citing the less than expected patronage for the Coimbatore-Bengaluru train, that has necessitated a change of time schedule. They have been contrasting this with the whopping patronage of over 150% for the pair of Vande Bharat Express trains that are operating in Kerala, and the inadequate number of trains during morning hours linking commercial hubs Ernakulam and Coimbatore.
Referring to reports of the Southern Railway being allotted a Vande Bharat Express rake, P. Krishnakumar, general secretary of Thrissur Railway Passengers’ Association (TRPA), said that it should ideally be deployed in the Ernakulam-Bengaluru route, where a good section of commuters were forced to travel in inter-State buses due to acute paucity of trains. “Else, the Railway must for the time being increase the number of coaches in the Coimbatore-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express from eight to 16, and extend it to Ernakulam. This would in turn benefit commuters from Ernakulam to both Bengaluru and Coimbatore, while the augmenting of coaches would ensure optimal utility of the Coimbatore-Bengaluru rail corridor.”
