Bi weekly trains between Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru

Bi weekly trains between Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RAJYA SABHA

QUESTION NO  2393

ANSWERED ON  04.08.2017

Bi weekly trains between Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru

2393       Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to satate :-

(a) whether Government is aware that the bi-weekly train (No.22657/58) between Thiruvananthapuram Central and Bengaluru has not begun operations despite being announced in the Railway Budget of 2013;

(b) the reasons behind not starting this service even after four years of its announcement; and

(c) by what date does Government plan to begin operations of the said route?

ANSWER               

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a) to (c) Introduction of Premium Express trains on specific high demand sectors had been announced in Railway Budget 2014-15. They were proposed to be run on seasonal and occasion-specific instances when the demand for travel goes up. Keeping this in view, introduction of Train No.22657/22658 Thiruvananthapuram – Bengaluru Premium Express (Bi-weekly) had been announced. The train ran 34 trips (up and down) between the period of September 2014 and January 2015. As of now, the running of Premium Express trains has been stopped with the introduction of Suvidha Express trains.