Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express train was launched by Narendra Modi on 25 April.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Congress Member of Parliament (MP) from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor.
The semi-high-speed train was flagged off from the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station at around 10.30 am.
Kerala has now become the fourth South Indian state to get the Vande Bharat Express, after Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
The Vande Bharat Express here will initiate regular service from 26 April.
The Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod train will cross 11 districts: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasargod.
It will complete the entire 586-km journey in just eight hours and five minutes, which is faster than the Rajdhani Express that takes roughly 10 hours and 45 minutes, as per the schedule.
The train will leave Thiruvananthapuram at 5.20 am and arrive at Kasargod by 1.25 pm. Likewise, it will leave Kasargod at 2.30 pm and arrive at Thiruvananthapuram by 10.35 pm.
The cost of travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod is Rs 1,590 for AC Chair Car and Rs 2,880 for Executive AC Chair Car.
The train will operate daily except on Thursdays.