Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has raised concerns over the alleged omission of Kerala’s capital from the 48 major cities’ infrastructure upgrade initiative announced by the Ministry of Railways as part of Vision 2030.

In a letter to railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Tharoor welcomed the Ministry's approach to decongest urban rail hubs but expressed dismay at the "glaring omission" of Thiruvananthapuram from the list.

The project, he noted, focuses on doubling train originating capacity.

"This exclusion is not merely a disappointment, but it appears to be a significant administrative oversight given the city's strategic and operational prominence within the Southern Railway network," Tharoor said.

He highlighted the city's role as the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division, which manages 625 route kms.

"To exclude a divisional headquarters from a capacity-building exercise of this magnitude is baffling," he said, adding that the city serves as the gateway to the southern tip of the subcontinent, anchoring a tourism corridor and a growing IT hub.

Tharoor pointed out that while he was pleased to see neighbouring Kochi included in the list, the absence of the state capital, which manages the very division under which many trains operate, is an anomaly that needs immediate rectification.

"The logic of 'doubling originating capacity' is most applicable precisely where the administrative machinery and operational demand already exist, as they do in Thiruvananthapuram," he said.

"The development of our rail infrastructure cannot be selective; it must be commensurate with the administrative stature and operational reality of the region," Tharoor added, urging the railway minister to include Thiruvananthapuram in the initiative.