Rail users in Coimbatore have appealed to the Railways to operate a Vande Bharat Express service to Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram, considering the passenger movement between the Kongu region and the two cities.

The service would immensely benefit students, professionals and pilgrims travelling to the places, they added.

Currently, there are only two daily trains available at convenient timings to travel between Coimbatore and Mangaluru. The first option is the Coimbatore-Mangaluru Intercity Superfast Express, which departs from Coimbatore at 6 a.m. and arrives in Mangaluru at 1.15 p.m. The second option is the West Coast Super Fast Express, which leaves at 9.30 p.m. and arrives in Mangalore at 5.50 a.m. the following day. The other two trains, the Coimbatore-Mangalore Express (7.50 a.m. to 6.40 p.m.) and the Chennai Egmore-Mangalore Express (10 a.m. to 7.15 p.m.), have longer travel durations and operate during the day.

The Vande Bharat train to Mangaluru takes less than six hours of travel, said J. Sathish, Director, Kongu Global Forum. There are a large number of people from the Kasargod-Mangalore belt settled in Coimbatore and surrounding areas. A quick connectivity to Kozhikode and Mangaluru will also be of value to tourists thronging resorts along the West Coast, he said.

Similarly, there will be abundant patronage by tourists if the Railways operates a Vande Bharat Express to Thiruvananthapuram, he said.

Meanwhile, the Welfare Association of Rail Passengers in Coimbatore-Pollachi-Palani-Dindigul (WARP-CPPD) has sought a daily express train between Dindigul and Erode via Pollachi and Coimbatore.

The train, when operated with starting time of 5 a.m. will benefit passengers from Dindigul, Oddanchatram, Palani, and Udumalpet, enabling them to commute to Coimbatore, Pollachi, Kinathukadavu, Tiruppur, and Erode, Association president and secretary S. Devadass and K. Mohan Kumar said in a letter to the Divisional Railway Manager, Salem Division.