With the rain taking a temporary respite, both the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Railway began restoring bus and train services from Ernakulam to nearby districts on Saturday evening.
The KSRTC began transporting commuters in the flooded Kalamassery-Athani corridor on NH 47 in lorries, including tipper lorries. The stretch is unsafe for buses and smaller vehicles.
A few dozen KSRTC buses ferried commuters on the Ernakulam-Kalamassery stretch, while another set of buses were waiting at Athani near Angamaly to take commuters who arrived in lorries, to Thrissur and other northern districts. The arrangement was made as per a direction issued by the agency’s CMD Tomin Thachankary, owing to all round demand to restore services in the corridor which is out of bounds for vehicles for about a week.
Over a dozen lorries operated in the Kalamassery-Athani corridor and would ply till late night to help stranded people.
The KSRTC operated its scheduled trips through Alappuzha to southern districts, including Thiruvananthapuram. With many parts of Kottayam remaining submerged, it operated a few services from Ernakulam through MC Road.
A press release issued by Mr. Thachankary said that services had resumed from Athani to Thrissur and from Vyttila Mobility Hub to Vaikom. Services to other routes will be restored when water level falls on roads.
Passenger trains
Passenger train services bound for southern districts resumed in the Ernakulam-Kottayam route at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The trains would stop at all stations en route, to help stranded commuters, Railway officials said.
A relief train operated from Angamaly to Ernakulam, bringing people affected by flooding in Aluva, Angamaly and Kalady.
Train services in the Ernakulam-Kottayam-Kayamkulam section will resume partially with speed restrictions from 6 a.m. on Sunday. But, train services in the Ernakulam-Thrissur-Shoranur section will remain suspended up to 4 p.m. on the day. Regular operations will continue in the Thiruvananthapuram-Alappuzha-Ernakulam route.