Tamil Nadu's Vande Bharat trains: How is it helping tourism?

Chennai: The rail transport sector in Tamil Nadu is on a high-speed track as the state gets its eighth Vande Bharat train. The Prime Minister recently flagged off the Chennai – Nagercoil and Madurai – Bengaluru Vande Bharat trains. Tamil Nadu ties with Delhi behind Uttar Pradesh, which has ten Vande Bharat trains. Vande Bharat is helpful for rail passengers who travel in long-distance trains or buses to the southern regions at night. Out of the eight Vande Bharat trains, six start from Chennai. There are two permanent services from Chennai to Mysuru; one starts at 5.50 am, and the other departs at 5 pm. These trains reach Bengaluru in just four and a half hours, and it takes six and a half hours to reach Mysuru. Now, the passengers who travel to Bengaluru and Mysuru mostly rely on these Vande Bharat trains.

Other services from Chennai are to Nagercoil, Coimbatore, Thirunelveli, and Vijayawada. Besides, Coimbatore—Bengaluru and Madurai—Bengaluru trains pass through Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, the time schedules of the Vande Bharat trains to Nagercoil and Thirunelveli are favourable for passengers who travel to the southern districts in Kerala.

The Nagercoil train reaches the destination at 1.50 pm while the other train arrives at Thirunelveli at 10.40 pm. Besides, the Vande Bharat trains reach places like Thiruchirappally, Dindigul and Madurai swiftly during the daytime. From these stations, it is easy to travel to famous tourism and pilgrim centres like the Madurai Meenakshi temple, Pazhani Murugan temple, and tourist spots like Kanyakumari and Kodaikanal. You could go to the Tirupati temple, one of the country's most famous pilgrim centres, by taking the Chennai – Vijayawada Vande Bharat.