Thiruvananthapuram: The Parasuram Express running between Kanyakumari and Mangaluru has emerged as the train with the highest occupancy in the country. Notably, eight of India’s top 10 trains in terms of occupancy—the rate of booking of reserved seats—operate in Kerala.

The Parasuram Express has an occupancy of 267.67 per cent, with data indicating that, on average, up to four passengers travel on each reserved seat during the journey.

Six trains operated by Southern Railway feature among the top 10 services by occupancy in Indian Railways. These include the Mangaluru–Kanyakumari Parasuram Express, Thiruvananthapuram–New Delhi Kerala Express, Kanyakumari–Katra Himsagar Express, Ernakulam–Okha Express, and Gandhidham–Nagercoil Express.

Top among Vande Bharat trains
Kerala also features prominently among high-occupancy Vande Bharat Express services. Four of the top 10 Vande Bharat trains in the country operate in the state, led by the Thiruvananthapuram–Mangaluru Vande Bharat Express with an occupancy of 187.78 per cent.

The Vande Bharat trains placed in positions two to 10 are: 

• Varanasi – Meerut (181.53 per cent)
• Mangaluru – Thiruvananthapuram (173.33 per cent)
• Kasaragod – Thiruvananthapuram (172.87 per cent)
• Meerut – Varanasi (172.16 per cent)
• Patna – Gomti Nagar (163.08 per cent)
• Thiruvananthapuram – Kasaragod (159.36 per cent)
• Ajmer – Chandigarh (158.21 per cent)
• Delhi – Jodhpur (156.69 per cent)
• Gomti Nagar – Patna (155.97 per cent)