Vanchinad Express is a express train in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 state, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 which runs between Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 and Ernakulam

Ernakulam

Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...

. This train connectsstate capital Trivandrum with another important port city called Kochi

Kochi

-Places:* Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala, India, formerly known as Cochin* Kingdom of Cochin, a former feudal city-state on Malabar Coast, India** Fort Kochi, one of the three main urban components which constitute the present day city of Kochi, Kerala, India...

 in Kerala

Route

The train No:16303 starts from Ernakulam Junction

Ernakulam Junction

Ernakulam Junction is the largest railway station in the city of Kochi. The station has six platforms and two terminals...

 at 05.00 hours and reaches Trivandrum Central

Trivandrum Central

Trivandrum Central is the main railway station in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the largest and busiest railway station in Kerala in terms of passenger movement and the second most important rail hub in South India. It is also the most profitable station...

 at 09.40 hours. In the return direction it leaves Trivandrum Central at 17.40 hours and reaches Ernakulam Junction at 22.20 hours. The train running via Kottayam

Kottayam

Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...

 route. It is a convenient daily day train service operating between Trivandrum and Kochi

Class of Accommodation

The train has one Reserved AC Chair Car, one Reserved Second Sitting and about ten Unreserved Second Sitting Coaches.

History and Relevance

The train was introduced long back in late 70's as a Super Fast. It had stops only at Kottayam and Kollam. But afterwards every MPs went on adding stops for this train in their respective regions.
The word Vanchinad means "A land in the shape of a boat". The old state of Travancore had this shape and was the old name for it. Hence the train has been affixed the name.

See also

• Famous trains
• Kerala Express
  Kerala Express
  The Kerala Express is a super fast express train of the Indian Railways that runs between New Delhi and Trivandrum Central. It is a daily train that covers a distance of 3,036 kilometers in 50 hours, 50 minutes when it runs from New Delhi to Trivandrum with 40 stops at an average speed of...
  
  
• Venad Express
  Venad Express
  The Venad Express is a train which goes from Shoranur to Trivandrum. It is numbered train no. 16301 and 16302 ....
  
  
• Guruvayur Express
  Guruvayur Express
  The Guruvayur Express is one of the express trains of Southern Railway in India. The train runs between the temple city Guruvayur with the capital of Tamilnadu Chennai through round about route. Earlier it used to connect state capital of Kerala, Trivandrum, with Guruvayoor and was later extended...
  
  
• Kerala Sampark Kranti Express
• Maveli Express
  Maveli Express
  The Maveli Express is a daily night express train of the Southern Railway Division of Indian Railways connecting Mangalore central to Trivandrum Central. The train numbers are 16603 and 16604. Train number 6603 leaves Mangalore at 17:40 hrs and arrives Trivandrum at 07:15 next day...