Kochi, Nov 8 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express on Saturday in an online event from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The Ernakulam Junction - KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express (06652) left the station here at 8.41 am, though the scheduled time was 8 am, to the sound of drum beats.

Prior to the flag off of the train from Ernakulam Junction, Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said that the Vande Bharat trains will bring "safety, speed and comfort" to rail travel in Kerala.

He said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream to improve the vast network of rail tracks and roads in the country and he has achieved it to a great extent.

Improvement of infrastructure was necessary for achieving the goal of 'Vikasit Bharat' and the Vande Bharat trains were a part of that, he added.

Arlekar said that the Centre sees Kerala as a part of the country and wants to develop it on par with other parts of the nation.

Speaking at the event, Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi said that Rs 3,042 crore has been allocated to Kerala in the railway budget to change the state's rail landscape.

Gopi said that the Centre is also planning to transform around 29 stations in the state under the Amrit Bharat scheme at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore.

Besides the Governor and Gopi, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Minority Affairs George Kurian, State Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Congress MP Hibi Eden and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar were the other dignitaries present at the event.

They all boarded the train and inspected its features before it was flagged off.

Only Gopi travelled on the train up to Thrissur.

The latest Vande Bharat train from Kerala, decked with flowers inside and out, also carried children from various schools selected on the basis of a drawing competition, and officials from various departments.

Speaking to reporters onboard the train, Gopi said, "It is a revolution on rails. ROR. It should roar".

The union minister further said that more trains can come to Kerala, and the only hurdle is the doubling of the tracks and straightening of the sharp curves on the existing ones.

"If there are more tracks, more trains will come. If the dangerous and sharp curves are straightened, the high-speed trains can come. The speeds of other trains will increase, and smaller trains will have more stops.

"So, every station will have a network connection and we will be able to ensure mobility at each station," he said.

He said that the Railways was ready for anything, but the state government will have to provide the land and get the sharp curves straightened.

Gopi said that he has heard the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tell the MPs from Kerala in the Parliament several times to request the state government to give more land to the railways and "pull out the sharp curves".

He said that straightening the sharp curves will help to provide a safer journey to people, reduce fuel consumption and thereby, bring down environmental pollution.

Gopi also suggested the relocation of railway stations and creation of a railway hub in Kochi, on the lines of Chennai Central, for ease of travel for the people.

He further suggested extending the Kochi metro to Coimbatore to increase connectivity and reduce environmental pollution.

The union minister later distributed chocolates to the school children onboard the train.

The Southern Railways later announced the train's regular timings.

Starting from November 11, 2025, the train will run six days a week (except Wednesday). It will start from Bengaluru at 5:10 am and will reach Ernakulam at 1.50pm.

From Ernakulam, it will start at 2:20 pm and will reach Bengaluru at 11 pm, Southern Railways said in its Facebook page.

According to the Railways, the new service will benefit IT professionals, businessmen, and students, among others.

The new train will provide seamless connectivity between Ernakulam, the commercial capital of Kerala, and the cosmopolitan city of Bengaluru, it has said.

The train traverses major cities of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, including Thrissur, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, and Salem, before reaching Krishnarajapuram and KSR Bengaluru. PTI HMP ADB