THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM state secretary MV Govindan said that Vande Bharat Express is not an alternative to the SilverLine. He added that K Rail is an essential project for Kerala and it will be implemented. “I stand by my opinion that Kerala needs SilverLine. The state can borrow money for investment. The cakes (appam) will be rotten by the time Vande Bharat trains reach their destination. You need SilverLine for that”, Govindan added.

The first Vande Bharat train allotted to Kerala reached Thiruvananthapuram the other day. The train arrived at a special yard at Kochuveli. Union Minister V Muraleedharan and BJP District President VV Rajesh welcomed the train. The employees welcomed the train with sweets and garlands. The Prime Minister will flag off the Vande Bharat service on 25th of this month.

Vande Bharat will run a single service in a day on Jana Shatabdi’s timing in the morning. There will be five or six stops till Kannur. The service will be via Kottayam due to double tracks. Electrification of two pit lines has been completed for this purpose at Kochuveli.

Although the maximum speed is 180 kmph, work is underway to strengthen the tracks to run the service at a low speed of 110 kmph. The route of Maveli Express towards Thiruvananthapuram and Jana Shatabdi towards Kannur has been restricted to make way for Vande Bharat. Maveli Express will run service till Kochuveli and Jana Shatabdi till Shornur. Four new Vande Bharat trains were allotted. Two of these are in Karnataka, where elections are coming up.