Kozhikode to get 'surprise' from Railways, Minister Ashwini shares govt plans for third Vande Bharat

NEW DELHI: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told MK Raghavan MP that the process to get the third Vande Bharat for Kerala will be implemented soon. The plan is to extend the Goa-Mangalore Vande Bharat Express, which is running at a loss, to Kozhikode. The Mangaluru MP met the Railway Minister against the Railway Board's decision to extend the train service from Bengaluru to Kannur via Mangaluru to Kozhikode.

Earlier, MK Raghavan had met with MP Ashwini Vaishnaw to extend the Bengaluru-Coimbatore, Goa-Mangalore Vande Bharat Express and Bengaluru-Coimbatore Udai Express to Kozhikode.

The new Vande Bharat Express to be started from Goa to Mangalore and extended to Kozhikode will also benefit the tourism sector. If the service is in the morning, it will solve the lack of morning train services from Kozhikode to Mangalore. Earlier, the intercity service from Goa to Mangalore was cancelled due to lack of passengers. All these matters were brought to the attention of the Union Minister by MK Raghavan MP.

Goa-Mangalore Vande Bharat Express is reportedly running at a loss. Railways also believes that the lack of passengers in this Vande Bharat Express can be solved if it is extended to Kozhikode.