Parliament Question: Vande Bharat from Chennai to Kanyakumari

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 379 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 VANDE BHARAT FROM CHENNAI TO KANYAKUMARI *379. THIRU THANGA TAMILSELVAN: DR. GANAPATHY RAJKUMAR P: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has any proposal to introduce a Vande Bharat train from Chennai to Kanyakumari via Madurai and Chennai to Kanyakumari via Coimbatore; and (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) and (b): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ***** §STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) AND (b) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.379 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 IN LOK SABHA (a) and (b) To facilitate the passengers of Chennai – Madurai - Kanniyakumari sector, 16121/16122 Tambaram - Thiruvananthapuram Central Amrit Bharat Express (via Madurai and Nagercoil Town) has been introduced w.e.f. 23.01.2026. In addition, 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express has also been introduced to facilitate the passengers of Chennai – Madurai - Kanniyakumari sector. Accordingly, Chennai – Madurai - Kanniyakumari sector is presently served by the following 24 train services: Sl. Train No. and Name 1 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express 2 16121/16122 Tambaram - Thiruvananthapuram Central Amrit Bharat Express 3 12633/12634 Chennai Egmore - Kanniyakumari Express 4 12641/12642 Kanniyakumari - Hazrat Nizamuddin Express 5 12665/12666 Howrah - Kanniyakumari Express 6 12667/12668 Tambaram - Kanniyakumari Express 7 12689/12690 MGR Chennai Central - Kanniyakumari Express 8 16127/16128 Chennai Egmore - Guruvayur Express 9 16367/16368 Kanniyakumari - Banaras Express 10 20635/20636 Chennai Egmore - Kollam Express 11 20691/20692 Tambaram - Nagercoil Express 12 22657/22658 Tambaram - Kanniyakumari Express ---2/--2- Further, Chennai – Coimbatore sector is served by 48 train services while Coimbatore – Kanniyakumari sector is served by 18 train services as listed below. Chennai – Coimbatore sector: Sl. Train No. and Name 1 12243/12244 MGR Chennai Central - Coimbatore Shatabdi Express 2 12507/12508 Silchar - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express 3 12511/12512 Gorakhpur - Thiruvananthapuram North Express 4 12515/12516 Coimbatore - Silchar Express 5 12521/12522 Barauni - Ernakulam Express 6 12623/12624 MGR Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express 7 12671/12672 MGR Chennai Central - Metupalaiyam Express 8 12673/12674 MGR Chennai Central - Coimbatore Express 9 12675/12676 MGR Chennai Central - Coimbatore Express 10 12679/12680 MGR Chennai Central - Coimbatore Express 11 12681/12682 MGR Chennai Central - Coimbatore Express 12 12695/12696 MGR Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express 13 12969/12970 Coimbatore - Jaipur Express 14 13351/13352 Dhanbad - Alappuzha Express ---3/--3- 15 16159/16160 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central Express 16 20643/20644 MGR Chennai Central - Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express 17 22207/22208 MGR Chennai Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Express 18 22637/22638 MGR Chennai Central - Mangalore Central Express 19 22639/22640 MGR Chennai Central - Alappuzha Express 20 22641/22642 Thiruvananthapuram Central - Shalimar Express 21 22643/22644 Ernakulam - Patna Express 22 22645/22646 Indore - Thiruvananthapuram North Express 23 22647/22648 Korba - Thiruvananthapuram North Express 24 22669/22670 Ernakulam - Patna Express Coimbatore – Kanniyakumari sector: Sl. Train No. and Name 1 12659/12660 Nagercoil - Shalimar Express 2 16317/16318 Kanniyakumari - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express 3 16321/16322 Nagercoil - Coimbatore Express 4 16381/16382 Pune - Kanniyakumari Express 5 16525/16526 Kanniyakumari - KSR Bengaluru Express ---4/--4- 6 20603/20604 New Jalpaiguri - Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express 7 22503/22504 Kanniyakumari - Dibrugarh Express 8 22619/22620 Bilaspur - Tirunelveli Express 9 22667/22668 Nagercoil - Coimbatore Express Besides, introduction of new trains including Vande Bharat train services on any route/section, which is an on-going process, depends on various factors which include:  Capacity of that section  Availability of path  Availability of required rolling stock  Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock  Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets *****