KOCHI : Kerala has got a raw deal yet again from the Indian Railways after the much-hyped Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express was diverted from the Trivandrum division to run on the Mysuru-Chennai route.
“A new Vande Bharat rake which was allotted to Trivandrum division is now diverted to South Western Railway. The rake which was meant for Ernakulam-Bengaluru Service has been taken away to run a new service from Mysuru,” Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said in a letter to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways.
He said he had written to the railway authorities seeking launch of Kochi-Bengaluru Vande Bharat citing the importance of such a service.
“I don’t have anything against Railways launching new trains or services to anywhere in the country. But diverting a rake to another zone, which was originally allotted to Trivandrum division is a grave injustice to us. I earnestly urge you to intervene in the matter and ensure the immediate allocation of a new Vande Bharat rake for the Bengaluru-Ernakulam service,” Hibi said.
According to him, the Railway Minister and top Railway officials had time and again notified that running the Vande Bharat train on the Ernakulam-Bengaluru route would be beneficial for both the passengers and the railways, based on statistics.
“The Railway Minister was convinced. Even the rake for the same was brought to Thiruvananthapuram. This had been unofficially confirmed by the railway authorities and an official announcement was pending,” he added. In addition to delivering the Vande Bharat train, special systems were also prepared at the Ernakulam marshalling yard for repair of the Vande Bharat spending crores of rupees, said the MP.
He alleged that the train is now being smuggled with the connivance of the BJP leadership to run on the Mysuru-Chennai route. “This incident is an example of the neglect shown by the Railways towards Ernakulam,” he added.
He urged the Union Minister to direct the Railways to give a written clarification on the matter saying that the revocation of the sanctioned Vande Bharat train is grossly unfair, and the action should be reconsidered.