Kerala's 2nd Vande Bharat to hit operation of nearly 14 trains

Pathanamthitta: When the state is all set for the official inauguration of the second Vande Bharat Express, the Southern Railways has landed in trouble as the new train is likely to hit the operation of other trains.

If the schedule of the second Vande Bharat train operating between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram is not changed, it may affect the operation of nearly 14 trains in the section between Ernakulam and Thrissur and Alappuzha and Ernakulam. 

Since there is only a single track between Ernakulam and Alappuzha, the line is cleared for Vande Bharat by blocking trains that are going in front or coming in the opposite direction. On its return journey from Thiruvananthapuram, Vande Bharat will arrive Alappuzha-Ernakulam section, the most congested rail line by the evening.

According to experts, this problem can be resolved if Vande Bharat is rescheduled. If the departure time from Kasaragod is revised to 5 am, the train can reach Ernakulam before 10 am and Thiruvananthapuram by 1 pm. On the return journey, if Vande Bharat starts at 2 pm from Thiruvananthapuram, it can cross the Ernakulam section before the busy hours. 

List of affected trains

1. Kochuveli-Yeshwantpura Express
2. Alappuzha-Kannur, Ernakulam-Ajmer Marusagar
3. Thiruvananthapuram-Nizamuddin Rajdhani
4. Kanyakumari-Bengaluru Island
5. Ernakulam-Shoranur MEMU
6. Ernakulam-Patna biweekly trains 
7. Alappuzha-Ernakulam MEMU
8. Kochuveli-Mysuru Express
9. Kozhikode-Thiruvananthapuram Jan Shatabdi
10. Mangaluru-Nagercoil Ernad
11. Ernakulam-Kayamkulam Express
12. Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram Express
13. Ernakulam-Alappuzha MEMU 

At the same time, the arrival of the train in Kasaragod at 11.55 pm is also found inconvenient for the passengers. But the predicament is caused because of restrictions on train traffic for three hours owing to track maintenance in the Malabar area.