Bangalore-Thiruvananthapuram Overnight Superfast Express Train

From close to 10 years, I have been representing repeatedly to the Railway Ministers, as also officials at various levels, about the woefully inadequate rail services between Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram, the respective state capitals, even as there exists fairly good services between Bangalore and Chennai, and even Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.

The only daily train linking Bangalore with Tiruvananthapuram, the 6526 Bangalore-Kanyakumari Express, takes a whole of 18 hrs to cover the distance of 803 km, averaging a speed of 44.61 kmph. This would easily make it eligible for an entry in the 'Guiness' records as the slowest express train in the world. On a comparison, the Shatabdi express between Bangalore and Chennai averages 72 kmph, and even the Brindavan express, with 7 stops, averages a creditable 63 kmph. At the Brindavan Express speed, the Bangalore Thiruvananthapuram journey can be completed in less than 13 hrs.

Considering the number of daily overnight private buses plying between Bangalore and various parts of Kerala, all of which invariably go full, there is more than adequate scope for atleast one overnight superfast daily service between Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram, completing the journey in less than 13 hrs, and that is what the present demand is for.

Over the last year, I have in addition been posting messages on the Railway Bulletin Board, alongwith some 200 others, the highest number for any single subject. The officials have been responding with blatant excuses like inadequate demand, route cluttering, etc. I therefore thought that I will mobilize the voices of the entire lot of people traveling regularly along this route to make this collective demand.