Indian Railways suspends official who delayed Vande Bharat train by 2 minutes in Kerala, reinstated later

The Indian Railways suspended an employee who caused a two-minute delay during the Vande Bharat Express' first trial run in Kerala. However, the suspension was later  withdrawn after labour union leaders protested, a report from Asianet Newsable stated.

After the signaller gave the first signal to Venad Express, the semi-high-speed train stayed at Piravom station for two minutes longer.

The Venad Express and Vande Bharat trains arrived at Piravom station at the same time. As a result, the official gave the jam-packed Venad Express the green light to pass first, causing the Vande Bharat Express to be slightly delayed.

The Vande Bharat train was delayed by two minutes as a result of this.

Suspension was lifted

Kumar, a senior railway employee and railway controller, was suspended as a result. However, the suspension was lifted after it became debatable and labour unions intervened.

The Indian Railways plans to significantly upgrade the signalling and rail infrastructure in Kerala in order to accelerate Vande Bharat.

The hope is that this will address Kerala's long-standing needs for timely track renovation and replacement of the outdated signalling system.

Kerala's first Vande Bharat train service extended till Kasaragod

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express, which will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 25, will cover Kasaragod.

He said the decision was taken following a request from Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan.

Initially, the train was planned to run between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur.