The Venad Express is an

Express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations along ...

connecting and via . The daily train's numbers are 16301 (from Shoranur Junction to Trivandrum Central) and 16302 (from Trivandrum Central to Shoranur Junction).

History

The Venad Express is one of the oldest daily intercity trains in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

, and one of the most popular trains between

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

(the state capital) and

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation ...

(Kochi). The Express was introduced in 1972 by Southern Railways. It travelled the track between

Trivandrum Central Thiruvananthapuram Central, formerly Trivandrum Central (also known as Thampanoor railway station) (station code: TVC), is a major railway station which serves the city of Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, In ...

and

. At that time,

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s were used to power the train, which initially had a green

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

. In 1976,

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

converted the tracks to

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

. In the 1980s,

introduced double-decker coaches for the train. The company later withdrew the double-decker compartments due to operational issues. The Venad Express was the fastest train of that time. Before its route extension, the train left at 06:00 and reached at 09:00. On the return trip, it left Ernakulam Junction/Cochin Harbour Terminus at 05:15 and reached Trivandrum Central by 09:30. Its rake was changed twice, first with a unique grey livery CBC rake which no other train in SR possessed. It was withdrawn from service after Venad got blue LHB coach. The train undergoes a locomotive reversal at

Ernakulam Junction railway station Ernakulam Junction railway station (also known as Ernakulam South, code: ERS) is the biggest railway station in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. Controlling 376 train routes at a time, it is the busiest railway junction station in South Indi ...

. Currently, the railways are planning to remove the stop at Ernakulam Junction. Instead, a longer halt was to be provided at Ernakulam Town. The train used to be hauled with diesel locomotives from Ernakulam locomotive shed. The diesel link was removed and it now runs with a

WAP7 The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic ...

from Royapuram Shed.

Name

The name ''Venad'' comes from the dynasty of

Venad Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...

Swarupam, which ruled over Quilon (Kollam). The Trivandrum Division of Southern Railway Zone set a precedent on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday list of minor secular observances#March, celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights, women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, ...

, March 8, 2020, when it ran the ''Venad Express'' with an all-female crew from Ernakulam Junction to Shoranur Junction. This was the first time in Kerala's history that an express train was operated by an all-female crew.

Frequency

This Venad Express runs daily. Train number 16301 departs Shoranur Junction at 14:35 and reaches Trivandrum Central at 22:25. Train number 16302 departs from Trivandrum Central at 05:25 and reaches Shoranur Junction at 12:50. It covers a distance of 327 kilometers (203 mi.) in each direction, and takes 7 hours and 50 minutes to go from end to end. The ''Venad Express'' links major commercial hubs within Kerala, including

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and ...

Aluva Aluva (; also known by its former name Alwaye) is a town in the Ernakulam District in Kerala, India. It is a part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is situated around from the city center on the banks of Periyar River. A major transp ...

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south ...

, Tiruvalla(Thiruvalla),

Chengannur Chengannur (also spelled Chengannoor or Chenganur) is a Municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala State, India. It is located in the extreme eastern part of the Alappuzha district, on the banks of Pamba River. Chengannur is north o ...

Kayamkulam Kayamkulam is a town and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in Kerala. It is the second biggest town in Alappuzha district. It is located on the western coast of India, and was an ancient maritime trading center. O ...

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The ci ...

Varkala Varkala, is a major coastal municipality situated in the northern suburb of Trivandrum, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the headquarters of Varkala Taluk and important government institutions such as the taluk office, court ...

, and Kochuveli with

Coach composition

The train's rake contains 16 unreserved coaches, 2 reserved coaches, an AC chair car coach, a pantry car and 2 EOG (End on Generation) coach cars for a total of 22 coaches. The train was allotted

LHB coach Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coach is a passenger coach of Indian Railways that is developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany (renamed Alstom LHB GmbH in 1998 after the takeover by Alstom and now known as Alstom Transport Deutschland) and mostl ...

starting in November 2019. Advance reservation is available only in three compartments. Seats can be reserved through the

IRCTC Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is an Indian public sector undertaking that provides ticketing, catering, and tourism services for the Indian Railways. It was initially wholly owned by the Government of India and operated ...

website or from the railway station. Other coaches can be boarded with an unreserved ticket.

Rake/Coach composition

''EOG – End on Generator'' ''UR – Unreserved'' ''D – Second Sitting'' ''C – AC Chair Car'' ''PC – Pantry Car''

References