The Venad Express is one of the oldest daily intercity trains in
Kerala, and one of the most popular trains between
Trivandrum (the state capital) and
Ernakulam (Kochi). The Express was introduced in 1972 by
Southern Railways. It travelled the track between
Trivandrum Central and
Ernakulam. At that time,
diesel engines were used to power the train, which initially had a green
livery. In 1976,
Indian Railways converted the tracks to
broad gauge. In the 1980s,
Indian Railways introduced double-decker coaches for the train. The company later withdrew the double-decker compartments due to operational issues. The Venad Express was the fastest train of that time. Before its route extension, the train left at 06:00 and reached at 09:00. On the return trip, it left Ernakulam Junction/Cochin Harbour Terminus at 05:15 and reached Trivandrum Central by 09:30. Its rake was changed twice, first with a unique grey livery CBC rake which no other train in SR possessed. It was withdrawn from service after Venad got blue
LHB coach. The train used to have a locomotive reversal at
Ernakulam Junction railway station. Currently, the railways removed the stop at Ernakulam Junction. Instead, a longer halt was provided at Ernakulam Town. In 2025, following the electrification of the
Nilambur-Shoranur Branch line, a proposal has been mooted to extend the train to
Nilambur Road railway station. The railways is looking for ways to accommodate the 24-coach train at the 14 coach platform. The train used to be hauled with
WDM-3 or
WDP-4 diesel locomotives from
Ernakulam locomotive shed. The diesel link was removed and it now runs with a
WAP 7 or
WAP-4 from
Royapuram/
Erode Shed. == Name ==