Case Study: The Success of Vande Bharat Express in Kerala

Only 4 Airports in the whole state: The coastal state of Kerala has several major cities with a good distance between them, however, only the top cities of Kerala have an airport for them which are 

• Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)

• Kochi (Cochin)

• Kannur (Cannanore)

• Kozhikode (Calicut)

Lack of frequent flights: Now with already only 4 airports in the entire state, those 4 airports do not have a frequent service schedule amongst themselves, this leads to shortage of tickets & puts a second thought into flying intercity.

No wide major expressway running through the state: This has been a serious problem for the state. While there has been constant improvement into widening & straightening the major highways such as the NH66 [Kanyakumari-Mumbai Highway] & the other major highways, the roads for most of the stretch are a regular 2 lane road, which does not allow for vehicles to travel at speed.

Lack of safe & reliable buses: Kerala has a large availability of buses running across the state at a frequent basis, however, with the underdeveloped roads & the pressure from bus companies on drivers & buses to operate for over the limit working hours, the intercity bus services become unsafe for travel. Improvements have been made, however the bus industry in Kerala has to go a long way.

No major intercity ferry service: With almost the entire major population centers being located on the coast, water transport would be a very good way to travel, however there are no well known, reliable & frequent ferry services in Kerala.

Shortage of trains as according to KL Population: The Trains running within Kerala are reliable & frequent, however they face the same problem trains face all across India, which is overcrowding. Many times, even in AC coaches, there are standing passengers for short journeys.