On Monday (17 April), the Vande Bharat Express completed its first successful trial run, covering a distance of 480 km between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur in seven hours and 10 minutes.
Departing from Thiruvananthapuram at 5.10am, the train was greeted with a warm reception upon arrival at Kannur, with many people flocking to take selfies with the train.
The train’s loco pilots, including MI Kuriakose, the main pilot, reported a comfortable journey with the train attaining a speed of 110 kmph between Thrissur and Kannur.
Vande Bharat Express has 16 coaches and will stop at eight stations, including Thiruvananthapuram.
The track augmentation and modernisation of the signalling system is being conducted on a war footing.
The train will be flagged off on 25 April by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During the first leg of the journey, the train reached Kollam in 50 minutes, while it took one hour and 25 minutes to reach Kottayam. It took an hour to reach Thrissur from Ernakulam North, followed by another hour and five minutes to reach Tirur. From there, it took 30 minutes to reach Kozhikode and an additional hour and 10 minutes to reach Kannur.
#WATCH | Trial run of Vande Bharat train, first for Kerala is underway.
The trail run started from Thiruvananthapuram at 5.10 am and reached Ernakulam North Railway Station. pic.twitter.com/VZiJXLEizE
— ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2023
The train will reportedly be stopped for some time at Thiruvananthapuram, Varkala, Kollam, Chengannur, Ernakulam South and Ernakulam North.
Currently, the fastest train on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur route is the Rajdhani Express, which covers the distance from Thiruvananthapuram to New Delhi in approximately eight hours.
Other essential trains on the same route include the Jan Shatabdi Express and Maveli Express, which take approximately nine hours and 20 minutes and ten hours, respectively.
More Vande Bharat services are expected, with one likely to operate between Coimbatore and Manguluru soon.