Vande Bharat: 'Luxury and Speed' enthuse commuters

MADURAI: Much to the delight of passengers, the eagerly awaited Vande Bharat Express, is all set to begin journey from Tirunelveli to Chennai via Madurai on Sunday (September 24).

Many of the would-be passengers have expressed excitement and gearing up to explore the latest travel luxury. Gunasingh Chelladurai, president, Tirunelveli Chamber of Commerce, hoped that the train bound for Chennai from Tirunelveli, would be better than air travel in various ways.

He said it would be better than air travel, though the flying time is lesser, reaching Thoothukudi airport from Tirunelveli is laborious and time consuming.

“More importantly, the cost of travel by Vande Bharat is just one-tenth of the flight fare,” said Chelladurai.

Others felt that this new train would be helpful for Deepavali travelers as private omnibus operators fleece commuters during the festival season.

P Saravana Kumar, a private omnibus operator in Madurai, said usually weekday fare per passenger from Madurai to Chennai air-conditioned bus is Rs 800 and Rs1,000 on weekends. “Every omnibus operator has to incur road tax of Rs 2,000 per seat on a journey for a month,” he said. Welcoming the launch of Vande Bharat train, S Rethinavelu, president, Agro Food Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Madurai, said it would certainly boost trade and tourism.

P Marimuthu, a tourist guide from Madurai, said the tourism industry would get a fillip with the new high-speed train service, especially for a season of foreign tourists, who are mostly traveling by the Vaigai Express train.

A Robin, president, the Tourist Guides Association, Kodaikanal, said if ‘Kodai Road’ is made as a halt station for the Vande Bharat train like how the Tejas express stops, then it would attract more tourists to Kodaikanal.