THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Members of Parliament from Kerala have demanded that the Railways take food safety on Vande Bharat trains seriously. The demand was raised during a meeting held yesterday on railway development in the state, in the presence of Southern Railway General Manager R.N. Singh. The MPs expressed concern over the distribution of poor-quality food on Vande Bharat trains.

The General Manager informed that a fine of Rs 1 lakh had already been imposed on the contractor responsible and an inquiry had been ordered. However, MPs insisted that the contractor should be blacklisted and called for strict punitive action.

R.N. Singh stated that land acquisition is the major hurdle for railway development in the state. He mentioned that 163 acres are required for the Thiruvananthapuram–Shoranur third line and that land acquisition for the Balaramapuram–Vizhinjam railway line is still incomplete. He also said that construction approval has been received for over 200 overbridges, and the Amrit Bharat scheme projects will be completed within three months.

The meeting was held at the Thycaud Guest House and chaired by MP Kodikkunnil Suresh. Thiruvananthapuram Divisional Railway Manager Dr. Manish Thaplyal delivered the welcome address. Union Minister Suresh Gopi, and MPs N.K. Premachandran, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Adoor Prakash, Anto Antony, Hibi Eden, John Brittas, Haris Beeran, Robert Bruce and V. Vijay Vasanth from Tamil Nadu attended. K.C. Venugopal participated online.

Additional demands by MPs:

• Overnight Vande Bharat sleeper service should be started in the state.
• Sleeper Vande Bharat trains are needed on the Bengaluru–Thiruvananthapuram and Thiruvananthapuram–Mangaluru routes.
• Rakes taken for the Kumbh Mela must be returned.
• More coaches and seats should be added to MEMU, passenger, and DEMU express trains.