The second Vande Bharat train allotted to Kerala earlier this week will help meet the demand for comfortable train travel across the State, although it has only eight coaches. However, there are concerns of other trains being rescheduled, and in rare instances detained, to make way for these premium trains.
The second Vande Bharat rake for Kerala began its trial run from Thiruvananthapuram at 4.05 p.m. on Thursday, and is slated to reach Kasaragod at 11.55 p.m. The return trip, starting at 7 a.m. from Kasaragod on Friday, will reach Thiruvananthapuram at 3.05 p.m. Railway sources said the trial run would help assess, among other aspects, to what extent the schedule of other trains could be affected by the second Vande Bharat. “Care has been taken to ensure that the Vande Bharat trains do not affect the schedule of other trains. The time schedule of Vande Bharat trains was decided by making optimal use of the vacant time slots. No train, barring those that run late, would be detained to pave way for the premium trains, a practice that is followed across India.”
