Thrissur (Kerala), March 13 Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi said on Friday that several special or festive season train services in Kerala have been regularized, and they will begin running regularly from March 16 onwards.
Gopi, the Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism, said in a Facebook post that regularizing these special or festive season trains was a long-standing demand of the people of Kerala, and it has been fulfilled thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
He also commented on the issue on the social media platform 'X', where he said, "Fulfilling a long-standing demand, several special/festive season train services in Kerala are now regularized! Under the leadership of PM @narendramodi ji and Railway Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw ji, we are ensuring permanent connectivity for all."
In his Facebook post, Gopi said that the new services will provide a permanent solution to the travel woes of passengers in the state.
The train services that have been regularized are – the Ernakulam-Velankanni Weekly Express, Thiruvananthapuram North-Mangalore Junction Antyodaya Express, Kollam-Ernakulam MEMU, Palakkad-Kannur Express, and the Mangalore Central-Palakkad Express, he said.
The Ernakulam-Velankanni Express will begin regular services from Ernakulam on March 18 and from Velankanni on March 19; the Thiruvananthapuram North-Mangalore Junction Antyodaya Express will do so from the state capital on March 16 and from Manguluru on March 17; and the Kollam-Ernakulam MEMU will run five days a week (except Saturday and Sunday) from March 16 onwards, the minister said.
The other two trains will commence daily services from March 16, he added.