Second Vande Bharat train allotted to Kerala will be flagged off by PM Narendra Modi on Sunday

The second Vande Bharat train assigned to Kerala is now receiving intensive preparations from the Southern Railway for its debut journey. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the train together with eight other trains that have been allocated to different railway divisions throughout the nation, at a ceremony that will be held on Sunday at 11 a.m. via videoconference from New Delhi. According to a senior railway official, there would be lavish public celebrations for the inaugural service at the stations of Payyannur, Kannur, Thalassery, Kozhikode, Tirur, Shoranur Junction, Thrissur, Ernakulam Junction, Alappuzha, Kayamkulam Junction, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Railways are compiling a lengthy list of dignitaries and invitees, much as they did for the first Vande Bharat service's maiden run. At a few chosen locations, there would be cultural events related to the first run. V. Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, will be present at the Kasaragod event.

The first Vande Bharat given to the State features 16 coaches, but the eight-car rake would have a total seating capacity of 530 seats, including 52 executive chair car seats. According to the Railways' preliminary itinerary, the train will leave Kasaragod at 7 a.m. and arrive in Thiruvananthapuram at 3.05 p.m. The train will depart Thiruvananthapuram Central at 4:05 pm and arrive in Kasaragod at 11:55 pm on the return journey.

As per the current timetable, there would be no service on Monday since the day is set aside for the weekly maintenance and inspection of the train. Thursday is the day for the first Vande Bharat's weekly maintenance and inspection. The train will run from the Central Station in Thiruvananthapuram. The train's first test run was on Thursday, when it departed Thiruvananthapuram for Kasaragod at 4:05 p.m. On Friday, the train will return to Thiruvananthapuram and depart once more in the afternoon for Kasaragod. The rake was delivered early on Thursday morning to Kochuveli station in preparation for the testing run.