As the Centre's breach of promise is very familiar, Malayalis do not find anything new in it now. However, there should be minimum decency kept while breaking a promise. Most recently, Kerala has faced shameful neglect in the matter of the 'Vande Bharat' high-speed train service. Vande Bharat is now running successfully, connecting many important cities in the country. The Center's repeated promises made people believe that the luck of that service would be made available in Kerala as well. But now it is heard that that wish is not coming true. Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav informed the Parliament that there is no intention to run Vande Bharat to Kerala at the moment. Many central ministers including Ashwini Vaishnaw himself had said earlier that Kerala will not have to wait much longer for Vande Bharat. No specific reason has been given for disallowing 'Vande Bharat' for Kerala. The minister did not give an indication on when to expect this either. Ashwini Vaishnaw's statement indicated that the state will have to wait indefinitely for receiving this high-speed train service, as in many other facilities. Waiting is nothing new, so the only way to bear this neglect is by being patient.

Repair works, including the ones for strengthening tracks, have been going on in multiple locations for quite some time. This has been disrupting the train services in the state. It has to be noted that no work related to Vande Bharat has been included among these. Although Railways have planned to start 75 more Vande Bharat Expresses in the country before next August 15, it is not possible to say how many of these services will start running. Since the Vande Bharat trains are just under construction, the new service will only start once they are completed. It has not been revealed which city will be lucky enough to get the service. Kerala Railways has only two divisions - Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad. Tenders were invited for four power substations at two locations, exclusively for Vande Bharat. Tenders were invited for track renovation as well. Everything will have to be put on hold in the context of the announcement made by the department minister in Parliament that there is will be no Vande Bharat for the time being.

The state has two and a half dozen MPs in Delhi. They are generally interested in political issues only. They can do a lot regarding the developmental needs of Kerala. Sadly, when it comes to popular demands like this, they are not able to get things done by putting pressure on the center. They always travel by plane. Maybe that is the reason why they don't show any special interest not only in Vande Bharat but also in regular train services.

Despite being a region with the highest ridership and revenue, the state has consistently been neglected in terms of railway facilities. Even after the situation has returned to normality everywhere after Covid, many of the restrictions on train services are still continuing in Kerala. Broken promises like this come in addition to that. The lack of leaders who are capable of demanding our rights is the main reason for this.