Kannur: The Amrit Bharat Express began operations from Friday. Regular services will commence soon, and ticket fares have been announced, offering long-distance travel at affordable rates. The non-air-conditioned 22-coach train includes both general seating and sleeper coaches.

  • General seating: Minimum travel distance is 50 km, fare ₹35.
  • Sleeper coaches: Minimum travel distance is 200 km, fare ₹165.
  • Express sleeper fares: 200 km – ₹150. Superfast trains incur an additional charge.
  • Superfast sleeper fares: 300 km – ₹230, 400 km – ₹280, 500 km – ₹335.

Schedule concerns

There has been protest over the schedule of the Nagercoil–Mangaluru Junction train (16329/16330), which takes 17 hours. On Tuesdays, it departs Nagercoil at 11.40 am, stopping at 20 stations, and arrives in Mangaluru at 5 am on Wednesday. The Parasuram train, which has over 50 stops on the same route, covers the same distance at the same time. For Malabar passengers, only one stop (Kasaragod, 86 km from Kannur) is allotted between Kannur and Mangaluru. The return journey departs Mangaluru at 8 am and reaches Nagercoil at 10.05 pm, taking just 14 hours.

Reception in Kannur

The Amrit Bharat Express was welcomed in Kannur at 10 pm, organised by the North Malabar Railway Passengers Coordination Committee (NMRPC). Locomotive pilots were garlanded, and passengers received sweets. Leaders present included Station Manager S Sajith Kumar, Chennai Zone Users’ Consultative member Rasheed Kavai, NMRPC general convener Dinu Mottammal and artist Sasikala. The service runs on the Nagercoil–Mangaluru route.

Amrit Bharat train services

  • Nagercoil–Mangaluru Amrit Bharat (16329): Departs Nagercoil at 11.40 am on Tuesdays, reaching Mangaluru at 5 am on Wednesday. Return journey departs Mangaluru at 8 am, reaching Nagercoil at 10.05 pm. Route via Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Shoranur.
  • Tambram–Thiruvananthapuram Amrit Bharat (16121): Departs Tambram at 5.30 pm on Wednesday, reaches Thiruvananthapuram at 8 am on Thursday. Return journey departs at 10.40 am, reaching Tambram at 11.45 pm the same day. Route via Madurai and Nagercoil.
  • Charlapalli–Thiruvananthapuram Amrit Bharat (17041): Departs Charlapalli (Hyderabad) at 7.15 am on Tuesday, reaches Thiruvananthapuram at 2.45 pm on Wednesday. Return journey departs 5.30 pm Wednesday, reaches Charlapalli at 11.30 pm on Thursday. Route via Kottayam, Ernakulam, Jolarpettai, Gundur.

Services start on

Nagercoil–Mangaluru and Charlapalli–Thiruvananthapuram on January 27, Tambram–Thiruvananthapuram on January 28.