Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 31 : All arrangements are in place for the arrival of brand new racks for the Vande Bharat trains in Kerala, according to sources in the Indian Railways.

This is being viewed as a Diwali gift for the state from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the sources added.

There are two pairs of Vande Bharat trains in operation in the state. It includes two pairing trains from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore and another one from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod.

At present, there are eight coaches on the Mangalore train and soon it will have 16 while the other train to Kasargod has 16 coaches and will have four more taking the total to 20.

The time taken by the Vande Bharat train from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore is 8 hours and 35 minutes, while the next fastest train on the same route takes 12 hours and 50 minutes and two other trains take close to 15 hours.

Ever since these high-speed superfast state-of-the-art trains started operation in the state, it has been a huge success with the trains running to full occupancy. Even though the price of tickets on these trains is very high, people prefer this mode of faster transport.

Seeing the success of these two pairing trains, a third one was also introduced which runs three times a week from Bengaluru to Kochi.

A businessman a frequent traveller on these superfast trains told IANS that ever since the Vande Bharat started operations in Kerala, he has more or less stopped using his car for his state-wide travels.

'Given the nature of my business, I have to visit my sites spread all across the state. Prior to Vande Bharat, I used to reach my sites in my car and used to drive from the state capital city. Now I rarely have to use my vehicle, instead, I make bookings in advance for a month and travel on Vande Bharat. This is definitely a huge blessing for me,' said the businessman who did not wish to be identified.

Many others also express their happiness similarly.

Vande Bharat trains remain the fastest option on all their routes. The inaugural New Delhi-Varanasi route, despite being the longest, holds the record for the highest average speed at 95 km/hour.

/IANS