100 Additional Trains Announced for Kerala During Onam

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday announced that 100 additional trains will be operated to Kerala during the Onam period. Due to the intensity of the festival season, additional services have begun to be provided.

The details of the special trains, including their schedules, routes and stoppages, will be announced soon, the minister said. The announcement is expected to provide relief to Keralites heading for Onam, which will be celebrated in August. During the festival season, train ticket reservations often fill up months in advance, causing serious travel difficulties.

The announcement was made on Monday as Vaishnaw flagged off Nanded-Mumbai and Tanakpur-Nanded Express trains as well as launching the extension of Tanakpur-Pilibhit train service to Shahjahanpur through video conferencing. Vaishnaw, who was in Odisha to review the railways’ preparations for the upcoming Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra in Puri and flag off two Odisha-origin trains later in the day, launched the new services from Rail Sadan.

Speaking at the event, the minister said the newly launched train services will improve rail connectivity and benefit passengers, especially the Sikh community in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

“There has been a constant demand from our Sikh brothers living in the Terai region. A train service connecting Nanded to Mumbai via Washim and Hingoli has also been launched today, which will improve connectivity of many districts in Vidarbha and Marathwada with Mumbai. Some train services connecting Pilibhit, Agra and Tanakpur have also been started.” he said.

Vaishnaw said the railways will examine the request to provide halts at Khatima and Banbasa.

“If possible, we will ensure that this train is stopped in Hatima and Banbasa,” he said.

The minister also announced the extension of the Tanakpur-Pilibhit train service to Shahjahanpur in UP and said that the Tanakpur-Agra service, which was earlier running as a special train, has now been made regular.

Drawing attention to the achievements of the railways in the last 12 years, Vaishnaw said that approximately 37,000 km of new railway lines were laid and the electrification rate reached 99.6 percent.

He said the railways will operate 100 special trains for passengers traveling during the Onam festival in Kerala. More than 300 trains will also be operated for the Rath Yatra in Puri, he added.

Vaishnaw, Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, said the railway network in the state will undergo a major transformation as projects worth more than Rs 90,000 billion are being implemented here.