Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express completes second trial run

Thiruvananthapuram, April 19

Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express train completed its second trial run on Wednesday from here to Kasaragod in 7 hours and 50 minutes, an official said.

The train, which departed Thiruvananthapuram at 5.20 a.m., arrived at Kasaragod at 1.10 p.m. The first trial run of the train was conducted on Monday from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur.

On Tuesday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had announced that the Vande Bharat Express will be extended till Kasaragod, instead of ending at Kannur. The decision to extend the service was taken following requests from BJP and Congress leaders.

The train was welcomed at Kasaragod station by several people, including Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan, who also had requested for the train service to be extended till Kasaragod.

The first stop was at Kollam, followed by Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod.

The Vande Bharat Express will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Thiruvananthapuram on April 25.

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, took to his Twitter handle and said, "Recalling my tweets of fourteen months ago suggesting #VandeBharat trains for Kerala. Delighted that @AshwiniVaishnaw has done just that. Looking forward to attending @narendramodi's flagging off of the first train from Thiruvananthapuram on April 25. Progress must be beyond politics."