KANNUR: Kerala has received a festive upgrade this Onam season with the arrival of a 20-coach Vande Bharat train — the second such long-formation service in the state.
Built at Chennai’s Integral Coach Factory (ICF), the new rake reached Kerala after undergoing inspection at Basin Bridge, Chennai, and will proceed via Palakkad to Mangaluru for final checks.
The Mangaluru–Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat (20631/20632), currently running with 16 coaches via Alappuzha, will soon be expanded to 20 coaches. Once clearance is given at the Mangaluru depot, the upgraded service will be launched. The expansion boosts passenger capacity from 1,016 seats to 1,336 — an additional 320 seats.
This comes after the Thiruvananthapuram–Kasaragod Vande Bharat (20634/20633) was upgraded to 20 coaches earlier on January 10, making Kerala one of the few states with two extended Vande Bharat services.
