Mangaluru Central–Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express (via Alappuzha)

The 20631/20632 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express (via Alappuzha) is India's 33rd Vande Bharat Express train, connecting South Karnataka's coastal city Mangaluru (Mangalore) with Kerala's south and state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the second Vande Bharat Express in Kerala as well as India's first saffron coloured semi-high speed train. The first Vande Bharat train in Kerala started its service between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram via Kottayam route in April 2023. With increase in patronage, there has been a strong demand by the passengers to have a second Vande Bharat between Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram so as to increase the frequency of this route per day to three trains.

The initial service of this Vande Bharat Express train from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram Central was inaugurated on 24 September 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conference from New Delhi. The extension of train from Kasaragod to Mangaluru was inaugurated on 12 March 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conference from Ahmedabad.

Overview
This train is operated by Indian Railways, connecting Mangaluru Ctrl, Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Tirur, Shoranur Junction, Thrissur, Ernakulam Junction, Alappuzha, Kollam Junction and Thiruvananthapuram Central. It is the second Vande Bharat Express train allocated to Kerala. It is currently operated with train numbers 20631/20632 daily.

Rakes
It is the thirty-first 2nd Generation and nineteenth Mini Vande Bharat 2.0 Express train which was designed and manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory at Perambur, Chennai under the Make in India Initiative. It is India's first Mini VB 2.0 Express train, running the tracks with the Saffron-Grey livery with 25 more modifications in the rakes. As per reports, a pairing train is allocated as there are a few problems in the maintenance of the train as per the current Time Table.

Service
The 20631/20632 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express (via Alappuzha) operates daily, covering a distance of 621 km in a travel time of 8 hrs 40 mins with an average speed of 73 km/h. The Maximum Permissible Speed is 100 km/h.