KOCHI: Amid protests regarding the inordinate delay of two passenger trains in the Alappuzha section, the Southern Railway has denied the claims that the introduction of Vande Bharat services has adversely impacted the journey time of the two trains.
“To facilitate the operation of Train No 20631/20632 Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express, minor revisions to the timings of two passenger trains running between Alappuzha and Kayamkulam were inevitable as they run through an intervening single-line section of Ernakulam and Ambalappuzha spanning 70 kilometres,” the spokesperson of the Southern Railway said.
The official said that the overall punctuality of the two passenger trains has either shown improvement or has remained nearly the same, post the introduction of the Vande Bharat services.
However, to restore the timings of the Ernakulam-Kayamkulam and Alappuzha-Ernakulam passenger trains, the Railway also moots an alternative option. It has suggested routing the Vande Bharat services via the Kottayam double-line section.