Vande Bharat Express trains provide faster travel comparable to international standards with more convenience in less time. Even as Vande Bharat trains were expected to fulfill this expectation, the clamor for more stops had already risen in Kerala.

Local political leaders like anti-national MLA K T Jaleel from Malappuram and MPs criticized the central government and claimed it was an election gimmick. The same ones demanded halts at Chengannur (the meeting point of Sabarimala pilgrims), Shoranur (the biggest railway junction in Kerala), and Tirur in Malappuram.

Indian National Congress leader Vellalath Kochukrishnan Nair Sreekandan (V K Sreekandan), the Palakkad district Congress Committee president and Member of Parliament (MP) from Palakkad Lok Sabha constituency, had warned that trains would be blocked if a stop was not allowed at Shoranur. Like most MPs from Kerala, he had done nothing for his constituency since he was elected. His wish was granted by the Railways. When the Vande Bharat schedule was declared, a stop at Shoranur was allowed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Kerala’s first Vande Bharat train in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw from Thiruvananthapuram railway station on 25 April. The train will run between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod and have stops at Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Shoranur, Kozhikode, and Kannur. The total travel time will be 7 hours and 50 minutes.

The reception for Kerala’s first Vande Bharat train and electric hybrid boats for the water metro has been immense. This has not gone down well with Congress leaders. Even while his henchmen were desecrating the train, Sreekandan was busy running a propaganda campaign that the Shoranur stop was sanctioned due to his efforts.

As soon as the train reached Shoranur, Congress goons and supporters of Sreekandan defaced the bogies and shamelessly pasted pictures of their leader on its inaugural run. His supporters vandalized the train by sticking his posters all over the train’s huge windows during its maiden journey. The signs congratulated Sreekandan for allowing Vande Bharat to halt at Shoranur.

Their actions have become a national shame from the same people claiming to be Bharat’s most-literate society. Netizens did not take it lightly, and protests are rising all over Kerala against their actions. Many reminded these anti-socials that high literacy without a sense of responsibility is as good as dirt.

Shoranur is the largest railway junction in South Bharat. It is also the only station in Palakkad district where a stop can be allowed. There were no technical barriers to allow a halt here. The Railways had received a feasibility report to enable the stop following which it was allocated.

Posters were affixed on many windows secretly while no one was watching with little regard for civic duties. The railway police team arrived and removed the signs immediately. Even after they were removed, the glue remained, and it was challenging to retain the old freshness of the new glass. Railway sources promised that those behind this would be caught and punished.

Vande Bharat was brought to Kerala in the particular interest of the Prime Minister as the new face of Kerala. PM Modi interacted with 42 students before inaugurating Vande Bharat. Many of the children viewed the state-of-the-art express train with great emotion. Modiji also observed many youngsters draw pictures of Vande Bharat. It is those innocent childish fantasies that are distorted by the acts of a few Congressmen.

Some pointed out that old habits die hard. Such ugly signs were common during the decades of Congress rule in Delhi, both inside and outside trains. Many took to social media and pointed out the vulgarity behind making such a beautifully constructed train unclean using posters. Some comments are not so kind.

Were the railway police watching this vandalism? Someone asked. Those who came to paste it should have been arrested and removed immediately. All the Vande Bharat trains will be destroyed if it goes like this. Others wanted immediate action against the officials at the station and the Railway Protection Force officers deployed on duty.

While locals pointed out that the stopover at Shoranur was good, it resulted from collective demand. The Congress retained Palakkad after replacing the Marxists in 2019. Communists had won the seat on seven previous occasions since 1996. Citizens had high expectations, but they were all quickly dashed, and now this.

Bookings were opened on Sunday morning. The train’s executive chair car seats on both routes for the first four days were fully booked within five hours. It will halt at each station for two minutes and at Ernakulam Town for three minutes.