Venad Express

Venad Express was introduced in 1972 by Southern Railways. The train used the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge track between Trivandrum Central and Ernakulam. It was hauled by diesel engines. The train from Trivandrum Central started at 5.30 and reached Ernakulam Junction by 9.30. On the return direction the train leaves Ernakulam Junction at 17:15 and reached Trivandrum Central by 21:30. In 1976 the tracks were converted to broad gauge and the broad gauge train was introduced.[1] The train had a green livery initially. The train was later extended to Shoranur after some years and timings were also revised. Venad Express is one of the oldest daily Intercity trains in Kerala and one of the most popular trains to travel between Trivandrum, the state capital, and Ernakulam (Kochi). In the 1980s Indian Railways introduced double-decker coaches for the Venad Express. But railways later withdrew the double decker compartments due to operational issues.

The name Venad came from an old dynasty Venad Swarupam that ruled over Quilon headquartered in Quilon(Kollam).

On 8th March,2020 International Women's Day, Trivandrum Division of Southern Railway Zone created history when it ran Venad Express with an all women crew from Ernakulam Junction to Shoranur Junction. This was for the first time in Kerala's history, an express train was fully operated by women including technical and non-technical staff of Ernakulam.

This train runs daily. Train no. 16301 departs Shoranur Junction at 14:25 hrs and reaches Trivandrum Central at 22:20 hrs. Train no. 16302 departs Trivandrum Central at 05:00 hrs and reaches Shoranur Junction at 12:45 hrs. It covers a distance of 327 kilometres (203 mi) in each direction and takes 7 hours and 50 minutes.

Venad Express links the major commercial hubs in Kerala including Thrissur, Aluva, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Tiruvalla, Kayamkulam, Kollam, Varkala, Kochuveli with Trivandrum. It is a very popular commuter train used by daily office-goers. The train is generally fully booked even during holidays.

The rake has 16 unreserved coaches, 2 reserved coach, an AC chair car coach, a pantry car and 2 EOG (End on Generation coach) cars making a total of 22 coaches.The train has been allotted LHB coaches , from November 2019 .

Advance reservation is available only in three compartments. Seats can be reserved through IRCTC website or from railway station. Other coaches can be boarded with an unreserved ticket.

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