Two minutes delay for Vande Bharat Express gets Kerala railway official suspended; reinstated later

A senior railway official was suspended after the flagship Vande Bharat Express in Kerala suffered a two-minute delay during its trial run on Monday. The suspension was later revoked due to the intervention of labour unions, reports said.

The proposed Vande Bharat Express, between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, was held up for two minutes at the Piravom railway station as the Venad Express had arrived at the same time. Subsequently, the jampacked Venad Express got the green signal to pass first from the officials, leading to the slight delay of the VB Express.

Railways took action by suspending BL Kumar, chief controller in the traffic section of the Thiruvananthapuram division. But the suspension order was withdrawn after labour union leaders protested.

The VB Express between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, the first in Kerala, is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 25. On Monday, it completed its first trial run, taking 7 hours and 10 minutes to cover the distance between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur. In the reverse direction, it took 7 hours and 20 minutes. If it adheres to the schedule, it will be the fastest train on the route.