Palakkad: Those who have planned a trip on Kerala's second Vande Bharat Express train starting on Tuesday can start booking their tickets now.
The railway authorities have started the online reservation option for Kerala's second set of eight-coach Vande Bharat Express services connecting Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram Central via Alappuzha. The online reservation option was made available at 7 am on Saturday. And within an hour, the public have started reserving their tickets for the first regular service and there is a good demand for the tickets for October 1, the first Sunday falling after the introduction of the second Vande Bharat Express in the state.
The ticket fare for Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram journey in the AC chair car is Rs 1,555 and Executive chair car is Rs 2,835 including food. The fare for Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod (VB train no: 20632) is Rs 1,515 for AC chair car and Rs 2,800 for executive chair car, including food. The rates of Vande Bharat services in the same routes are different because of the food distributed at different times.
The authorities have informed that the regular service of Thiruvananthapuram Central–Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express (train no. 20632) will start on September 26. The train will leave Thiruvananthapuram Central at 4.05 pm every day except Mondays and reach Kasaragod at 11.58 pm. on the same day.
The regular service of Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram Central (train no. 20631) Vande Bharat Express will begin on September 27. The train will leave Kasaragod at 7.00 am every day except Tuesdays and reach Thiruvananthapuram Central at 3.05 pm on the same day.
The total one-way distance in the route is 573 kms. While the Thiruvananthapuram-bound Vande Bharat will cover the distance in seven hours and 55 minutes, the Kasaragod-bound Express will take eight hours and five minutes to complete the journey. The overall speed of the Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram and Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod service will be 72.39 kmph and 70.90 kmph, respectively.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the second Vande Bharat Express allotted to Kerala through video conference from New Delhi at 12.30 pm. The train will have an inaugural run from Kasaragod (12.30 pm) to Thiruvananthapuram Central (11.00 pm). It will have special stoppages at Payyanur (1.13 pm), Kannur (1.48 pm), Thalassery (2.13 pm), Kozhikode (3.08 pm), Tirur (3.48 pm), Shoranur Junction (4.30 pm), Thrissur (5.05 pm), Ernakulam Junction (6.13 pm), Alappuzha (8.05 pm), Kayamkulam (9.02 pm) and Kollam Junction (9.50 pm) in-between.