Kannur: The route of the Amrit Bharat Express trains has been announced. The Nagercoil–Mangaluru service (16329/16830) will operate via Kottayam. The train will depart Nagercoil at 11.40 am on Tuesday and reach Mangaluru in the early hours of Wednesday. On the return journey, it will leave Mangaluru at 8 am on Wednesday and reach Nagercoil at night.

Although it is a weekly service, it is expected to benefit passengers travelling between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod. The train will have stops at 20 stations. After Kasaragod, the next stop will be Kannur, which has drawn criticism as passengers from eight major stations in between will not be able to avail of the service. The train will terminate at Mangaluru Junction.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the trains from  Thiruvananthapuram at 10.45 am on Friday. The 22-coach Amrit Bharat trains, in versions 1 and 2, do not have AC coaches and will comprise general and sleeper coaches. The other two Amrit Bharat services are Thiruvananthapuram–Tambaram and Thiruvananthapuram–Hyderabad.

The proposed stops for the Amrit Bharat service are Thiruvananthapuram, Varkala, Sivagiri, Kollam, Karunagappally, Kayamkulam, Mavelikkara, Chengannur, Thiruvalla, Changanassery, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Aluva, Thrissur, Shoranur, Tirur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Kasaragod and Mangaluru Junction.

The timetable will be announced after the Southern Railway evaluates the stations approved by the Railway Board, and changes to the list of stations are also possible.

The Thiruvananthapuram North–Charalappally Amrit Bharat service will operate via Palakkad and will stop at 15 stations in Kerala.

Hope for Vande Bharat Sleeper

There is also an expectation that Kerala will get a Vande Bharat Sleeper train when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday to flag off the Amrit Bharat services. The proposed Vande Sleeper routes for Kerala are Thiruvananthapuram–Chennai (922 km), Thiruvananthapuram–Bengaluru (844 km) and Thiruvananthapuram–Mangaluru (681 km).