Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Nov 18: A new train, ‘Mangalore Central – Palakkad Intercity Express’ will be flagged off on Friday November 18. This train had been announced in the last budget.

Rajya Sabha member and former union minister, Oscar Fernandes, will flag off the inaugural run of the train at the central railway station here at 11 am. Union minister of state for railways, K H Muniyappa, will participate as chief guest of the function. Mayor of the city, Pravin, will preside. MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel, deputy speaker of the state assembly, N Yogish Bhat, MLA, U T Khader, MLC, Capt Ganesh Karnik, and Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat president, Shyalaja Bhat, will participate as guests.

The new train will begin to move between Mangalore Central and Palakkad stations from Saturday onwards. The train (22609) will leave the local station at 12 noon on a daily basis, and reach Palakkad at 6.15 pm. On its return journey, the train (22610) will leave Palakkad at 7.25 am and reach here at 1.40 pm.  It will have halts at Kasargod, Kanhangad, Payyanur, Kannur, Talassery, Kozhikkode, Tirur, Shoranur, and Ottapalam stations. On an experimental basis, the train has been given halts at Vadagara station too till June 30, 2012.

The new train will have one air-conditioned chair car, four second class chair cars, six second class coaches, and two luggage-cum-brake vans, a release from Southern Railway said. Advance booking has already begun.