The first of two Vande Bharat trains, sanctioned for Kerala, would be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Thiruvananthapuram on April 25.
Modi is reaching Kochi on April 24 to participate in a programme titled 'YuVAM', where he will be interacting with around 1 lakh youth and a high level campaign is being undertaken by the state BJP to make it a major success.
The Vande Bharat train has 16 modern coaches and will have uninterrupted services.
The Railways will conduct a trial run on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur stretch on April 22. Sources in the railways told IANS that track augmentation and modernisation of the signalling system is being conducted on a war footing.
Based on the nature of the tracks in Kerala, the speed is limited to 110 km per hr instead of the 180 km per hr the train can travel.
The Kerala government's ambitious semi-high speed rail project, K-Rail stands aborted and the BJP expects to scrore brownie points against the Left Front led by the CPI-M in this matter.
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Talking to IANS, BJP national executive member and Railway Passenger Amenities Committee Chairman P.K. Krishnadas termed the Vande Bharat trains a Vishu gift to the people of Kerala by the Narendra Modi government.
--IANS
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