THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second Vande Bharat Express between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram via Alappuzha will start service next week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the inaugural run from Kasaragod via video conferencing on Sunday. The Railways is planning to start the regular service on Tuesday. The train rakes reached the Kochuveli station from Chennai on Thursday morning. The newly designed train has a mix of orange and white colours.
The train will start service from Kasaragod at 7 AM and reach Thiruvananthapuram at 3 PM. The train will have stops at Kannur (8:03 AM), Kozhikode (9:03 AM), Shoranur (10.03 AM), Thrissur (10:38 AM), Ernakulam South (11:45 AM), Alappuzha (12:38 PM), and Kollam (1:55 PM), in between.
The train will return from Thiruvananthapuram at 4:05 PM and reach Kasaragod at 11:55 PM. The train will stop at Kollam (4:53 PM), Alappuzha (5:55 PM), Ernakulam South (6:35 PM), Thrissur (7:40 PM), Shoranur (8:15 PM), Kozhikode (9:16 PM), and Kannur (10:16 PM), in between. The train will be operated on six days a week. The Palakkad division of Southern Railway operates the train.
The prime minister flagged off the first Vande Bharat Express at Thiruvananthapuram Central on April 25. Train No.20633 Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat Express has registered 177.45 per cent occupancy till September 13. Train No.20634 Thiruvananthapuram Central-Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express has registered 171.76 per cent occupancy during the period.
Occupancy rate is the proportion of available seats used by passengers travelling on a specific train route, including those who board and alight at intermediate stations.