Vande Bharat is a start, track upgrade needed
Kerala’s first and only Vande Bharat semi-high-speed train has been operating for two weeks. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the premium train service with huge hype and fanfare, as expected, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw promised the upgradation of the existing tracks in the state in two phases. The ministry sanctioned Rs 381 crore to upgrade the entire track from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram to handle a speed of 110 kmph in the first phase. And Phase 2 of the project involves straightening the curves, and other necessary adjustments. This will increase the speed potential of the track to 130 kmph. Currently, the Vande Bharat operating in Kerala is one of the slowest in the country, thanks to the innumerable curves along the line.
The train, though seen as a political message by some, has been welcomed with open arms by commuters, if the advanced booking is anything to go by. The business community, too, has welcomed the train as it reduces the travel time between Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in the north by three hours. But the Vande Bharat Express has made the railway division’s task of maintaining the schedule of all other services tougher. The number of level crossings, curves along the track, and ongoing track upgradation works are posing major challenges. There have been complaints that the Vande Bharat train was behind schedule on some days last week. There were also complaints that other trains were being stalled for longer durations to allow Vande Bharat to pass.
Initial glitches occur in any project, and one can expect that the issues involving Vande Bharat and other trains will get sorted out very soon. But what is of utmost importance is the upgradation of the railway lines as promised by the ministry. Only then can Vande Bharat trains achieve the targeted speed. More Vande Bharat trains with destinations in Karnataka—Ernakulam-Mangaluru and Ernakulam-Bengaluru—may be announced soon. The railways are also expected to ignore the demands from political leaders for more stops en route as it will eventually defeat the very purpose of semi-high-speed trains like Vande Bharat. If the railways ministry can ensure that the upgradation work happens as per schedule, the launch of the Vande Bharat train would hit a new milestone in Kerala’s rail history.