Ernakulam-Velankanni Express, a service that was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, will be restored soon, said N.K. Premachandran, MP, after a meeting with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Railway Board chairman V.K. Tripathi.
Mr. Premachandran had demanded the restoration of pre-COVID-19 services, stoppages, season ticket facility and unreserved coaches. The authorities said that steps would be taken to extend the service of Dhanbad Express to Kollam and the restoration of various stoppages for Egmore Express, Palaruvi Express, Chennai-Guruvayur Express and Mangluru-Thiruvananthapuram Express was under consideration. At present, these services have no stoppage at Aryankavu, Thenmala, Kundara and Paravur.
Mr. Premachandran said railway officials were currently exploring the possibilities of extending Guruvayur-Punalur Express to Madurai and attaching vistadome coaches to the train to operate as a day service. “The possibility of extending Kollam-Visakhapatnam Express to Punalur is also being explored. Tirunelveli-Mangaluru Express can operate via Tenkasi, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kozhikode to make the most of the Kollam-Sengottai line,” he said.
