NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express, which will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 25, will cover Kasaragod. The decision was taken after a request from Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan.

Thiruvananthapuram is a major urban area which has a lot of small sub-cities around it. There were discussions with the state government over improving the connectivity of the region, the minister said.

Kerala's first Vande Bharat train reached Ernakulam from Thiruvananthapuram. After Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, Kerala will become the fourth state in South India to receive the premium train as a result of this. The semi-high-speed train is currently in the testing phase, said railway officials.

The Vande Bharat Express is expected to travel between the Indian railway stations of Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur. The 501-kilometer journey between the two terminals is expected to take the train 7.5 hours to complete. Although the Union Railway Ministry has not formally confirmed it, it is anticipated that the train will stop at Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Thrissur, and Kozhikode.

The public is grateful to PM Modi for launching the semi-high-speed train in the state of Kerala, according to Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Tuesday. This would make it possible for people living in Kasaragod, Kerala's most northern district, to take advantage of the train service as well.

Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan requested a route extension in a letter to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to provide "overall high-speed railway connectivity in the state."

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