MALAPPURAM: A lot of talks and hollering were made for Tirur. The strong protest was to allow Vande Bharat a stop at Malappuram's major town. Railways had to fall for the pressure and a stop was allowed in Tirur much to the relief of many in the Malappuram belt. Albeit approving this decision, there was no big hope of profit from Tirur, but the current situation has left even railway officials stunned. Now, tickets should be booked at least one week earlier to get a seat on Vande Bharat trains.

For Kasaragod - Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express (20631), all tickets from Tirur are on a waiting list and all tickets are booked for this month. This is also the case with AC Executive Class (EC) which has to pay higher fares.

The EC fare from Tirur to Thiruvananthapuram is Rs 1,955. Low-fare AC chair car tickets are available for the 26th and 27th of October, but the tickets are filling fast. The waiting list is over 100 on most days. AC chair car fare from Tirur to Thiruvananthapuram is Rs 1,100. Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express (20632) also has no ticket to Tirur till the end of this month.

From Tirur to Thiruvananthapuram, other trains take 8.5 to 9.5 hours, while Vande Bharat takes just 5.41 hours to complete the journey. The pleasant journey along with the luxury amenities has grown into a favourite among people and it has resulted in high booking numbers from Tirur.

Vande Bharat will arrive at Tirur at 9:22 am in the morning and reach Thiruvananthapuram Central at 3:05 pm in the afternoon. The train stops at Ernakulam Junction for three minutes and at other stations for two minutes. The punctuality has never faltered.

Earlier there was no KSRTC bus service to Malappuram and Manjeri after 7 pm. No private bus after 8:15 pm. To solve this, KSRTC has started a special service. The bus leaves Manjeri at 7 pm and reaches Tirur railway station at 8.40 pm. The bus will leave from Tirur station at 9 pm.