COIMBATORE: Railway activists have sought introduction of Vande Bharat train service between Coimbatore and Thiruvananthapuram.
Coimbatore is a gateway to Kerala, where tourists from across the country and world over visit throughout the year. Also, a significant number of people from different parts of Kerala including Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Ernakulam are residing in Coimbatore and Palakkad region.
Similarly, people from Kerala also visit the Nilgiris, the Queen of Hills located in close proximity to Coimbatore.
“Therefore, introducing the Vande Bharat express train from Thiruvananthapuram to Coimbatore and vice versa through Ernakulam will be an instant success and will draw a good number of passengers,” said Vanitha Mohan, vice chairperson of Kongu Global Forum. A demand in this regard has also been made to V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs.
There are more than 82 omni bus services between Coimbatore and Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram everyday besides numerous government bus services between Palakkad, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram.At least 11 trains are operated between Coimbatore and Ernakulam, in which eight trains go further to Thiruvananthapuram. In addition to these services, a lot of weekly and special train services are also available in this section, but the restriction in quota of seats and timing of train services has denied the opportunity for people to use these facilities.