The State government on Wednesday requested the Railway Ministry to allot stops for the Vande Bharat Express at Tirur in Malappuram and at Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta, considering the heavy passenger traffic from both stations towards both northern and southern sides of Kerala.
In a letter to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan invited the attention of the Union Minister to the ‘justifiable demand’ of rail commuters in Kerala for allotting stops at Tirur and Thiruvalla, which are important railway stations in the State.
Tirur is one of the major stations on the Shoranur-Mangaluru section of the Southern Railways and it has also been included in the Amrit Bharat scheme for its development as a model station. Likewise, Tiruvalla is also a station that occupies a pride of place on the railway map of Kerala. The commuters would find it highly beneficial if a stop for the Vande Bharat train was provided at these stations, said the Chief Minister.
Recently, the High Court turned down a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Railways to allot a stop at Tirur, saying the purpose of setting up high-speed trains would itself be lost if every individual in every district starts asking for a stop of his or her choice. Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off on April 25 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station.
