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Follow UsIn Kerala, the current eight-coach Vande Bharat trains will be replaced with 20-coach version. The new train will replace the existing Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram (20631/20632) Vande Bharat Express, which currently runs via Alappuzha.
According to railway statistics, this train operates with an occupancy close to 200 percent. This means that in a coach with 100 seats, 200 passengers utilise the seats through multiple journeys.
The Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram service (20631) presently runs with all its 474 seats fully occupied. With 20 coaches, the new train will have over 1,246 seats available.
The 20-coach Vande Bharat trains were recently introduced by Indian Railways. Two such newly manufactured trains from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, were handed over to Southern Railway a few days ago.
Priority is being given to the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru and Tirunelveli-Chennai Vande Bharat trains, which currently run with eight coaches.
The 16-coach Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express (20634) with 1,016 seats operates with 100 percent occupancy. As per railway data, this train ranks first among 17 trains with 100 percent occupancy.
The change was implemented after complaints from various zones regarding yellow discolouration on the white trains. The ICF introduced the new colour scheme with the approval of Indian Railways.