The Indian Railway successfully completed the trial run of Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur today.
The trial run started from Thiruvananthapuram railway station at 5:10 am and reached Kannur at 12:30 pm.
Meanwhile, top officials of the Thiruvananthapuram division and engineering department authorities joined the journey to Kannur.
On April 14, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Vishukaineettam" (gift) this year is the Vande Bharat train service for Kerala.
"The demand for a high-speed train for Kerala has now been fulfilled. Prime Minister takes special care of Kerala. Under PM Narendra Modi's leadership, the Centre is taking all efforts for the development of Kerala," he said.
Muraleedharan said though the Centre had earlier indicated that Kerala will get the Vande Bharat train, a campaign was unleashed that the state had been denied the train.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off the Vande Bharat train service during his visit to Kerala later this month.
Vande Bharat Express is an indigenously manufactured, semi-high speed and self-propelled train set.
The train is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities, providing passengers with a faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
