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Passengers travelling on the Vande Bharat Express between Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru have been facing repeated delays, affecting daily travel plans and overall experience. The train has reportedly been running late by over an hour on several occasions, with delays extending up to two hours at some stations. Issues such as single-line track congestion, especially along the Alappuzha section, and inadequate pre-departure maintenance have contributed to the situation. With premium fares attached to the service, passengers have raised concerns over punctuality, cleanliness, and operational efficiency on this key Kerala route.
Passengers travelling on the Vande Bharat Express connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru have continued to face delays, raising concerns about reliability on this premium rail service. The train, which is expected to maintain strict schedules, has been arriving and departing late on multiple occasions in the past few days. Advertisement
In one instance reported recently, the train left its originating station behind schedule, leading to long waiting times for passengers. This also resulted in crowding at platforms, particularly at busy stations along the route. Several passengers indicated that the delay at departure affected the entire journey, with the train failing to recover lost time during transit.
The impact was felt across key stops such as Kozhikode and Kannur, where passengers reached significantly later than planned. In some cases, delays extended close to two hours, disrupting connecting travel plans and causing inconvenience to those relying on fixed schedules. Regular commuters and long-distance travellers were among those affected.
Operational issues were also highlighted by passengers, who noted that coaches were not always cleaned or prepared properly before departure. This raised concerns, especially given that Vande Bharat services are positioned as premium trains with higher fares and better onboard standards compared to conventional services.
Infrastructure constraints remain one of the main reasons behind these delays. A significant portion of the route still operates on single-line tracks, limiting flexibility in train movement. The Alappuzha corridor, in particular, has been identified as a bottleneck, where congestion from multiple trains sharing the same track leads to scheduling challenges and delays.
Railway officials have in the past acknowledged that Kerala's rail network operates under high traffic density, leaving limited room for additional high-speed services without affecting existing operations. The introduction of Vande Bharat services has required adjustments in train scheduling, but without parallel upgrades in infrastructure such as track doubling, maintaining punctuality remains a challenge.
Passengers have pointed out that the higher ticket pricing of Vande Bharat services creates expectations of timely and comfortable travel. Repeated delays and service gaps have therefore led to dissatisfaction among users, especially during peak travel periods when demand is high.
There have been calls from passengers and rail user groups for corrective steps, including better maintenance checks before departure, improved scheduling, and faster implementation of infrastructure upgrades like doubling of tracks. These measures are seen as necessary to ensure that the service meets its intended standards and performs consistently on one of the state's busiest rail corridors.
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