Lok Sabha Question No. 63 (STARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains in Kerala
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri K C Venugopal, Shri Anto Antony

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 63 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026

## VANDE BHARAT SLEEPER TRAINS IN KERALA

- *63. SHRI K C VENUGOPAL: SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government plans to introduce Vande Bharat Sleeper trains in Kerala and if so, the details thereof including the timeline for rollout
- and the number of trains allocated to the State;
- (b)  the  details  of  the  specific  routes  proposed  for  Vande  Bharat  Sleeper trains  in  Kerala  including  expected  reductions  in  travel  time  on  this count;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  persistent  overcrowding  on Kerala's coastal railway routes via Alappuzha including the ErnakulamThiruvananthapuram corridor, where MEMU/passenger trains face severe capacity issues leading to passengers fainting, reduced coaches and inadequate services during peak hours;
- (d) if so, the  details  of  the  measures  being  taken  to  address  this overcrowding including addition of coaches for MEMU trains, fastening of track doubling along with any plans for new trains/Vande Bharats for capacity enhancements;
- (e)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  introduce  additional  reservation quotas including a student quota in Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains and if so, the details thereof;
- (f)  whether  the  dynamic  pricing  system  is  applicable  to  Vande  Bharat Sleeper trains and if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) whether the introduction of dynamic pricing system will increase ticket fare equivalent or higher than airfare and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (g): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (g) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.63 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026 IN LOK SABHA

- (a) to    (g)  As  the  railway  network  straddles  across  State  boundaries, trains are introduced across such boundaries as per network requirement. Presently, on orignating/terminating basis, the following six Vande Bharat (Chair  Car)  train  services  are  catering  to  the  needs  of  various  stations located in the State of Kerala:
- i. 20631/32  Mangaluru  Central  -  Thiruvananthapuram  Vande  Bharat Express
- ii. 20633/34 Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express
- iii. 26651/52 Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express

On  end  to  end  basis,  Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram  sector  is  being served by 118 train services, while Ernakulam- Alappuzha sector is catered by 65 train services while Alappuzha-Thiruvananthapuram sector is catered by 52  train services.

## Train services over Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram sector

|   SN | Train number and name                                                     |
|------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 12075/76 Kozhikode - Thiruvananthapuram Central Jan Shatabdi Express      |
|    2 | 12081/82 Kannur - Thiruvananthapuram Central Jan Shatabdi Express         |
|    3 | 12201/02 Lokmanya Tilak (T) - Thiruvananthapuram North Garib Rath Express |
|    4 | 12218/17 Chandigarh - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                    |
|    5 | 12257/58 Yesvantpur - Thiruvananthapuram North Garib Rath Express         |
|    6 | 12432/31 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Rajdhani Express  |

|   7 | 12484/83 Amritsar - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                    |
|-----|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   8 | 12508/07 Silchar - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                   |
|   9 | 12511/12 Gorakhpur - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                   |
|  10 | 12623/24 MGR Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express       |
|  11 | 12626/25 New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                   |
|  12 | 12644/43 Hazrat Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram Central Express           |
|  13 | 12660/59 Shalimar - Nagercoil Express                                   |
|  14 | 12695/96 MGR Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express       |
|  15 | 12697/98 MGR Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express       |
|  16 | 12777/78 SSS Hubballi - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express    |
|  17 | 16128/27 Guruvayur - Chennai Egmore Express                             |
|  18 | 16301/02 Shoranur-Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                    |
|  19 | 16303/04 Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                   |
|  20 | 16311/12 Shri Ganganagar - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express |
|  21 | 16315/16 Mysuru - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express          |
|  22 | 16318/17 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra - Kanniyakumari Express           |
|  23 | 16320/19 SMVT Bengaluru - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express  |

|   24 | 16330/29 Mangaluru - Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express                           |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   25 | 16331/32 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express |
|   26 | 16333/34 Veraval -Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                          |
|   27 | 16335/36 Gandhidham - Nagercoil Express                                       |
|   28 | 16341/42 Guruvayur - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                       |
|   29 | 16344/43 Rameswaram - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                      |
|   30 | 16345/46 Lokmanya Tilak (T) - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express              |
|   31 | 16348/47 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express               |
|   32 | 16350/49 Nilambur Road - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express         |
|   33 | 16356/55 Mangaluru Jn. - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express         |
|   34 | 16381/82 Pune - Kanniyakumari Express                                         |
|   35 | 16526/25 KSR Bengaluru - Kanniyakumari Express                                |
|   36 | 16561/62 Yesvantpur - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express            |
|   37 | 16603/04 Mangaluru Central -Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                |
|   38 | 16605/06 Mangaluru Central -Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                |
|   39 | 16630/29 Mangaluru Central -Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                |
|   40 | 16649/50 Mangaluru Central - Kanniyakumari Express                            |

|   41 | 17041/42 Charlapalli - Thiruvananthapuram North Amrit Bharat Express         |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   42 | 19260/59 Bhavnagar Terminus - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express   |
|   43 | 19578/77 Jamnagar - Tirunelveli Express                                      |
|   44 | 20629/30 Secunderabad - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                   |
|   45 | 20631/32 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat Express |
|   46 | 20633/34 Kasargod - Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat Express          |
|   47 | 20910/09 Porbandar - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express            |
|   48 | 20924/23 Gandhidham - Tirunelveli Express                                    |
|   49 | 20932/31 Porbandar - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express            |
|   50 | 22113/14 Lokmanya Tilak (T) - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express   |
|   51 | 22207/08 MGR Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express            |
|   52 | 22504/03 Dibrugarh - Kanniyakumari Express                                   |
|   53 | 22619/20 Bilaspur - Tirunelveli Express                                      |
|   54 | 22634/33 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express              |
|   55 | 22642/41 Shalimar - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                       |
|   56 | 22645/46 Indore - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express               |
|   57 | 22647/48 Korba - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express                |

|   58 | 22654/53 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express              |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   59 | 22660/59 Yog Nagari Rishikesh - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express |

## Train services over Ernakulam- Alappuzha sector

|   SN | Train number and name                                                              |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 16127/28 Guruvayur - Chennai Egmore Express                                        |
|    2 | 16603/04 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                    |
|    3 | 12697/98 Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                      |
|    4 | 12643/44 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                    |
|    5 | 16331/32 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express |
|    6 | 22207/08 Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                      |
|    7 | 16355/56 Mangaluru - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express                  |
|    8 | 16315/16 Mysuru - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express                     |
|    9 | 16341/42 Guruvayur - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                            |
|   10 | 12217/18 Chandigarh - Kochi Ernakulam Express                                      |
|   11 | 22659/60 Yog Nagari Rishikesh - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express       |
|   12 | 12483/84 Amritsar - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express                   |
|   13 | 22639/40 Chennai Central - Alappuzha Express                                       |

|   14 | 20931/32 Indore - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express        |
|------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   15 | 20909/10 Porbandar - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express     |
|   16 | 19577/78 Jamnagar - Tirunelveli Express                               |
|   17 | 12511/12 Gorakhpur - Kochi Ernakulam Express                          |
|   18 | 22645/46 Indore - Thiruvananthapuram North (Kochuveli) Express        |
|   19 | 16307/08 Kannur - Alappuzha Express                                   |
|   20 | 16345/46 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express |
|   21 | 13351/52 Dhanbad - Alappuzha Express                                  |
|   22 | 22641/42 Shalimar - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                |
|   23 | 22633/34 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express       |
|   24 | 20923/24 Gandhidham - Tirunelveli Express                             |
|   25 | 16605/06 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express       |
|   26 | 22619/20 Bilaspur - Tirunelveli Express                               |
|   27 | 12075/76 Kozhikode - Thiruvananthapuram Central Janshatabdi Express   |
|   28 | 66300 Ernakulam - Alappuzha MEMU                                      |
|   29 | 66309/66310 Ernakulam - Kollam MEMU                                   |
|   30 | 66313/66314 Ernakulam - Alappuzha Passenger                           |
|   31 | 56319/56320 Ernakulam - Kayamkulam Passenger                          |

|   32 | 12431/12432 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Rajdhani Express     |
|------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   33 | 20631/20632 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat Express |

## Train services over Alappuzha-Thiruvananthapuram sector

|   SN | Train name and number                                                              |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 16127/28 Guruvayur - Chennai Egmore Express                                        |
|    2 | 16603/04 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                    |
|    3 | 12697/98 Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                      |
|    4 | 22207/08 Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                      |
|    5 | 16331/32 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express |
|    6 | 12643/44 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                    |
|    7 | 16355/56 Mangaluru - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                              |
|    8 | 16315/16 Mysuru - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                                 |
|    9 | 16341/42 Guruvayur - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                            |
|   10 | 12483/84 Amritsar - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                               |
|   11 | 12217/18 Chandigarh - Kochi Ernakulam Express                                      |
|   12 | 22659/60 Yog Nagari Rishikesh - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                   |

|   13 | 20931/32 Indore - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                           |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   14 | 19577/78 Jamnagar - Tirunelveli Express                                      |
|   15 | 20909/10 Porbandar - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                        |
|   16 | 12511/12 Gorakhpur - Kochi Ernakulam Express                                 |
|   17 | 22645/46 Indore - Thiruvananthapuram North Express                           |
|   18 | 20631/32 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat Express |
|   19 | 16345/46 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express        |
|   20 | 22641/42 Shalimar - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express                       |
|   21 | 22633/34 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express              |
|   22 | 20923/24 Gandhidham - Tirunelveli Express                                    |
|   23 | 16605/06 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express              |
|   24 | 12075/76 Kozhikode - Thiruvananthapuram Central Jan Shatabdi Express         |
|   25 | 12431/32 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Thiruvananthapuram Central Rajdhani Express     |
|   26 | 22619/20 Bilaspur - Tirunelveli Express                                      |

Besides, introduction of new train services, including Vande Bharat sleeper services, is an on-going process.

The  speed  and  travel  time  of  train  services,  is  dependent  inter  alia  on capacity of the section concerned, availability of path and terminals etc.

Increased accommodation:

The passenger volume over various sections of Indian Railways including Kerala's  coastal  Railway  routes  via  Alappuzha,  including  the  ErnakulamThiruvananthapuram  corridor  is  not  uniform  throughout  the  year  and  it varies over lean and peak periods. During peak rush periods, the occupancy of the trains especially on popular routes remains full whereas during  lean  period  and  on  less  popular  routes,  there  is  sub  optimal utilization.

Indian Railways (IR) have significantly increased the facilities for passengers demanding general class travel. During the last financial year 2024-25  alone,  1250  general  coaches  have  been  utilised  in  various  longdistance trains.

To  cater  to  the  travel  demand  of  the  low  and  middle  income  families, Indian  Railways  have  taken  up  manufacturing  of  17,000  non-AC  coaches (general/sleeper).

On IR, the percentage of non-AC coaches, is about 70% as indicated below:

Table 1: Distribution of coaches:

| Non-AC coaches (general and sleeper)   | ~57,200   | ~70%   |
|----------------------------------------|-----------|--------|
| AC coaches                             | ~25,000   | ~30%   |
| Total coaches                          | ~82,200   | 100%   |

Due  to  higher  availability  of  general  coaches,  the  number  of  passengers traveling in general/ unreserved coaches has shown an increasing trend as shown below:

Table 2 : Passengers in general/unreserved coaches:

| Year    | Nos. of Passengers   |
|---------|----------------------|
| 2020-21 | 99 Cr (Covid year)   |
| 2021-22 | 275 Cr (Covid year)  |

| 2022-23   | 553 Cr   |
|-----------|----------|
| 2023-24   | 609 Cr   |
| 2024-25   | 651 Cr   |

The number of seats available for non-AC passengers has also increased.

The current composition is as follows:

Table 3: Distribution of seats:

| Non-AC seats   | ~ 54 lakhs   | ~ 78%   |
|----------------|--------------|---------|
| AC seats       | ~ 15 lakhs   | ~ 22%   |
| Total          | ~ 69 lakhs   | 100%    |

Moreover,  to  provide  greater  accommodation  for  the  passengers  using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches, the extant policy regarding composition of Mail/Express trains provides for 12 (Twelve) General  class & Sleeper class non- AC coaches and 08 (eight) AC-Coaches, in a train of 22 coaches, thereby providing greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches.

Accordingly,  Mail/Express  trains  serving  stations  located  in  Kerala  has been standarised to have minimum 04 unreserved coaches. Further, since April,  2025,  Mail/Express  and  Passenger  trains  have  been  permanently augmented  utilising  8  unreserved  Coaches  and  04  pairs  of  MEMU  train services  operated  with  12-Car    have  been  augmented  to  16-Car  MEMU services. Further, to cater to the stations located in Kerala, 66325/66236 Nilambur Road - Shoranur MEMU has been introduced w.e.f  24.08.2025 and 56115/56116  Thrisur  -  Guruvayur  Passenger  has  been  introduced  w.e.f. 26.01.2026.

Railway Network To strengthen the railway network in Kerala, the following surveys have been sanctioned:

|   SN | Route                                         |   Length (Km) |
|------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|    1 | Shoranur-Mangalore 3rd & 4th Line             |           307 |
|    2 | Coimbatore-Shoranur 3 rd & 4 th line          |            99 |
|    3 | Shoranur - Ernakulam 3 rd Line                |           106 |
|    4 | Ernakulam-Kayankulam 3 rd line (via Kottayam) |           115 |
|    5 | Kayankulam-Thiruvanathapuram 3 rd Line        |           105 |
|    6 | Thiruvanathapuram-Nagercoil 3 rd Line         |            71 |
|    7 | Turavur-Ambalappuzha Doubling                 |            46 |

After  firming  up  of  Detailed  Project  Report  (DPR),  sanctioning  of  project requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments  and  necessary  approvals  viz.  appraisal  of  NITI  Aayog, Ministry  of  Finance  etc.  As  sanctioning  of  projects  is  a  continuous  and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed.

## Kerala:-

Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                           |
|----------|----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹ 372 crore/year                 |
| 2025-26  | ₹3,042 crore (more than 8 times) |

As  on  01.04.2025,  06  projects  (02  new  line  and  04  doubling)  of  266  km length, costing ₹9,415 crore falling fully/partly in Kerala are sanctioned.

The summary is as under:-

| Category                 |   No. of projects | Total Length   | Length Commissione d   | Balance to complete   | Expenditure upto March 2025 (₹in Crore)   |
|--------------------------|-------------------|----------------|------------------------|-----------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| New line                 |                02 | 146 km         | 0 km                   | 146 km                | 309                                       |
| Doubling /multitrac king |                04 | 120 km         | 26 km                  | 94 km                 | 2,941                                     |
| Total                    |                06 | 266 km         | 26 km                  | 240 km                | 3,250                                     |

## Details  of  some  of  the  recently  completed  projects  falling  fully/partly  in Kerala are as under:

|   SN | Project                                                                   | Cost (₹ in Crores)   |
|------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
|    1 | Dindigul-Pollachi-Palghat & Pollachi-Coimbatore gauge conversion (217 km) | 1,360                |
|    2 | Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur gauge conversion (357 km)                  | 1,122                |
|    3 | Mulanturutti-Kuruppantara doubling (24 km)                                | 303                  |
|    4 | Chenganur-Chingavanam doubling (27 km)                                    | 436                  |
|    5 | Ambalapuzha-Haripad doubling (18 km)                                      | 346                  |
|    6 | Kurruppanthara-Chingavanam doubling (27 km)                               | 749                  |

## Some of the projects falling fully/partly in Kerala which have been taken up are as under:

|   SN | Project                                  | Cost (₹ in Crores)   |
|------|------------------------------------------|----------------------|
|    1 | Tirunnavaya - Guruvayur new line (35 Km) | 138                  |
|    2 | Angamali-Sabarimala new line (111 km)    | 3,801                |
|    3 | Ernakulam-Kumbalam doubling (8 km)       | 595                  |
|    4 | Kumbalam-Thuravur doubling (16 km)       | 803                  |

|   5 | Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 km)   |   3,786 |
|-----|--------------------------------------------|---------|
|   6 | Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km)      |     367 |

Execution  of  important  infrastructure  projects  falling  fully/partly  in  the State of Kerala are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in the State of Kerala is as under:

| Total Land required for Projects in Kerala   | 476 ha       |
|----------------------------------------------|--------------|
| Land Acquired                                | 65 ha (14%)  |
| Balance Land to be acquired                  | 411 ha (86%) |

Railway had deposited ₹1,975 crore for land acquisition to Government of Kerala.    Support  of  the  Government  of  Kerala  is  needed  to  expedite  the land  acquisition.  For  instance,  details  of  some  major  projects  which  are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:-

|   SN | Name of the project                        |   Total land required (in Ha) |   Land acquired (in Ha) |   Balance Land to be acquired (in Ha) |
|------|--------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|    1 | Angamali - Sabarimala new line (111 km)    |                           416 |                      24 |                                   392 |
|    2 | Ernakulam - Kumbalam Patch doubling (8 km) |                             4 |                       3 |                                     1 |
|    3 | Kumbalam - Turavur Patch doubling (16 km)  |                            10 |                       9 |                                     1 |
|    4 | Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km)      |                             5 |                       0 |                                     5 |

Government of India  is  geared  up  to  execute  projects,  however  success depends upon the support of Government of Kerala.

Sanction  of  any  railway  project  depend  upon  many  parameters/factors which include the following:

- Anticipated  traffic  projections  and  remunerativeness  of  the proposed route
- First and last mile connectivity provided by the project
- Connection of missing links and providing additional route
- Augmentation of congested/saturated lines
- Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives
- Railway's own operational requirements
- Socio-economic considerations
- Overall availability of funds

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:

- Land acquisition by State Government
- Forest clearance
- Shifting of infringing utilities
- Statutory clearances from various authorities
- Geological and topographical conditions of area
- Law and order situation in the area of project site
- Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.

All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s.

Reservation quota:

There  is  Ladies  quota,  quota  for  Persons  with  Disabilities  (PWD),  Senior Citizen quota and Duty Pass quota as per existing instructions issued from time to time.

Vande Bharat Sleeper Express introduced over Indian Railways has an all inclusive  basic  fare  structure.  No  dynamic  pricing  is  applicable  in  this train.

*****