THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain and Union Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons, will jointly flag-off the Kochuveli- Mangaluru Junction - Antyodaya Bi-weekly Express at a function to be held in Kochuveli Railway station here on Saturday.
The Ministers will also dedicate the newly converted Broad Gauge section between Punalur and Sengottai (49.3km) in Punalur Railway Station at 1315 hrs on the same day and inaugurate the new station building at Changanasseri Railway station at 1645 hrs.
Kochuveli-Mangaluru Junction Antyodaya Express will address the demands of last minute passengers and people who travel frequently from/to the state capital towards Malabar and Konkan regions.
The train leave Kochuveli at 2125 hrs on Thursday and Saturday and reach Mangaluru Junction at 0915 hrs on the next day.
In the return direction, the train departs Mangaluru Jn. at 2000 hrs on Friday and Sunday and reach at Kochuvelli at 0815 hrs on next day.
The interior paneling of the coaches of Antyodaya has been done with aluminium composite panels, similar to Deen Dayalu coaches.
The train has cushioned luggage racks with coat hooks, LED lights, mobile and laptop charging points, water purifiers, and fire extinguishers with anti-theft arrangement and enhanced capacity dustbins.
The bio-toilets in the train are in line with Indian Railways' vision to keep tracks defecation free.
The 49 km rail route between Sengottai-Punalur includes a heritage 13-arch bridge commissioned in 1903.
There are 16 major bridges and 78 minor bridges in Sengottai-Punalur section.
Five tunnels are constructed for a length of 1.8 km in the section.
Tunnels and bridges in the Punalur-Sengottaighat section were modified to suit broad gauge standards.
The total cost of this project is Rs 358 crore.
The new Aryankavu-Edamann stretch (21 km) section is the last stretch of the Punalur-Sengottai broad gauge Section.
The station building at Changanacherry has been newly constructed at a cost of Rs 7.2 crore.
The new station building is equipped with a host of facilities such as current and advance booking counters, parcel booking facility, waiting halls for fist class, second class passengers, ladies, differently-abled friendly gents and ladies toilets, ramps and a VIP Lounge.