Giving a major relief to train commuters, the Southern Railways has decided to enhance the speed of trains between Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram via Alappuzha to 110 km/hr from January. The train passengers on this route especially between Alappuzha and Ernakuam have been up in arms against the Railways after the trains were being detained to make way for the Vande Bharat (VB) service as part of maintaining its time schedule.
At present the highest operational speed between Kayamkulam and Thiruvananthapuram is 100 km/hr and 90 km/hr on Ernakulam-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam route. Enhancing the current speed to a uniform sectional speed of 110 km/hr will reduce running time of trains in this section to around 20 to 25 minutes, giving a breather to all sections of commuters. Similarly, the Railways has decided to increase the speed of trains between Shoranur and Kannur to 130 km/hr from the current 110 km/hr in the next financial year.
The sectional speed of train from Kannur to Mangaluru and Kollam Thiruvananthapuram will be increased to 130 km/hr during the 2025-26 financial year. Increasing speed to 130 km/hr in the Ernakulam to Kollam via Alappuzha and Shornur to Podanur in Tamil Nadu will take time as the work is expected to be completed in 2026-27. The feasibility study for enhancing the speed to 130/160 km across the entire length of Thiruvananthapuram – Mangaluru section, via both Alappuzha and Kottayam is under way.
As the protest by the rail users against trains being detained has recently snowballed into controversy with commuters holding protests wearing black masks, the Railways has considered the proposal to route the second Vande Bharat service allotted for the State between Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod via Alappuzha through the Kottayam route to quell the protest. The Railways has also sought the opinion of people’s representatives in the State. However, this has not gone down well with the train users as they have been demanding revision of time schedules of both affected trains services and Vande Bharat service.
Now, enhancing the speed to 110 km/hr will provide the effect of tweaking the train schedule to a some extent on this critical route, where the single line between Ambalapuzha to Ernakulam has been creating problem as the railways has to detain trains to facilitate crossing of trains. The work related to strengthening of bridges, aligning of curves wherever feasible is nearing completion on the Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram route, said railway sources.
