Palakkad: The operations and mechanical wing of the railways has submitted a favourable feasibility report for the Ernakulam – Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express service, to the Southern Railways. The report suggests operating the train with eight coaches as an express special, thrice a week. As per a temporary schedule, the train that departs Ernakulam at 2 pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays reaches Bengaluru via Palakkad at 10.50 pm. The return trip began at 4.30 am and reached Ernakulam at 1.20 pm. Even though the train was brought to Kerala, months ago, the rakes were moved out of the state. The Ministry of Railways decided to conduct a feasibility study after this kicked up a political storm. The facility for maintenance works too is available at Ernakulam. The railway board will now take a decision based on this report.
As per reports that came out early this month, The Railway Board is also considering a proposal to allot two Vande Bharat sleeper trains to the state. The proposed services are, Kochuveli - Bengaluru and Kanyakumari – Srinagar. The construction of the Vande Bharat sleeper coaches is currently underway at Bharat Earth Movers Limited’s (BEML) factory in Bengaluru and work on 10 rakes will be completed by December, said authorities. Similar to Rajdhani Express trains, all compartments of Vande Bharat sleeper trains would be air-conditioned.
