T'puram: Passengers want railways to implement the proposal to increase the number of coaches of Vande Bharat Express trains from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore and Kasargod without much delay, as the demand for seats are very high.
The train from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore via Alappuzha has eight coaches and the service from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod via Kottayam has 16 coaches.One of the trains will be converted into a 20-coach service.
The railways approved the proposal a couple of months ago; however, the final order is yet to be issued.
Patronage for the two services exceeds 100-200%, ranking them among the most popular Vande Bharat trains in the country.
The number of coaches on the existing services is not commensurate with the demand. The service from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod via Kottayam is also popular among people who travel between Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam for work.
Liyons Joseph of Friends on Rails said that it will be beneficial if railways increase the coaches as early as possible. The train that starts from the state capital in the morning reaches Ernakulam at 8.25am and Thrissur at 9.30am.
"The patronage is also high due to the crowded and delayed buses caused by ongoing road work along the route," he added.
Krishna Kumar P of the Thrissur Railway Passengers Association urged the railways to increase coaches of the trains without delay. "The trains have excellent patronage and failing to increase capacity will result in loss of revenue," he said.
"If the number of coaches is increased now, Sabarimala pilgrims will also benefit," he said.
He added that the railways should free up the existing eight-coach rake and can consider using it to run services between Ernakulam and Bengaluru.
A railway official said that the final order to replace the rake has not come. A date has not been finalised, but the Mangalore route train may be upgraded to a 20-coach rake, he said.