Kasaragod–Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express (via Kottayam)

The 20633/20634 Kasaragod - Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express (via Kottayam) is India's 15th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting Kasaragod with state capital Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The train service was officially inaugurated on 25 April 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Thiruvananthapuram Central. As of July 2023, it is the best-performing Vande Bharat Express train service with an average occupancy of 183 per cent, according to official data.

Overview
This train is operated by Indian Railways, connecting Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Shoranur Junction, Thrissur, Ernakulam Town, Kottayam, Chengannur, Kollam Junction and Thiruvananthapuram Central. This is the first Vande Bharat Express train for Kerala and the third Vande Bharat Express train for Southern Railways. It is operated with train numbers 20633/20634 on 6 days a week basis.

Rakes
It is the thirteenth 2nd Generation Vande Bharat Express train which has been designed and manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) under the leadership of Sudhanshu Mani at Perambur, Chennai under the Make in India initiative.

Service
The 20633/20634 Kasaragod - Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express (via Kottayam) operates 6 days a week, covering a distance of 586 km in a travel time of 8hrs 05mins with an average speed of 73 km/h. The Maximum Permissible Speed is 110 km/h.

Incidents
Just a few days after the commercial run of this Vande Bharat Express train, an unidentified man pelted stones on this express train on Monday, 1 May 2023. This incident occurred near the Tirur railway station in the Malappuram district in Kerala around 5pm. Despite the crack, this train continued the journey and halted at the Shoranur Junction railway station. Once on arrival, the railway protection force inspected the cracks to find out this issue. Luckily no casualties were reported during this incident.