The Madurai Railway Division is seeking feedback from passengers to change the timings of Madurai-Villupuram-Madurai special trains.
The train leaves Madurai at 7 a.m. and reaches Villupuram at noon. It departs at 4 p.m. from Villupuram and arrives here at 9.30 p.m.
Officials feel that the lower occupancy rate in the trains could be because of the timings. “It could be because, the train leaves a little early from Madurai and reaches here late,” a railway official told The Hindu.
With limited bus services being operated, passengers may face difficulties in reaching the railway station from remote locations. Similarly, with TNSTC buses being instructed to return to depots at 9 p.m., those reaching Madurai junction will not find buses to go home.
“We are seeking feedback from passengers to come up with timings that will suit their needs,” the official said.
An option is to start the train late from Madurai and a little early from Villupuram.
“We have four hours buffer time between arrival and departure of the train at Villupuram and that can be brought down,” he added.
Meanwhile, after the special train started running on June 1, the need to reopen catering units at railway stations has been felt.
After the Railway Commercial Department ordered reduction of the licence fee for one month to 3% of the quoted licence fee, one stall each was opened at Madurai, Tirunelveli, Dindigul and Virudhunagar.
“The number of train services has come down from around 100 to 2. Tirunelveli and Virudunagar stations are served by only one train. Hence, the licence fee has been reduced as per Railway Board order,” the official added.
Meanwhile, the All Railway IRCTC Catering Licence Organisation said with two train services, the licencees who were ready to serve the needs of the passengers were not getting adequate patronage to run the stalls.
“We cannot pay even the salary to workers. We appeal to the railway officials to do away with the licence fee so that passengers get service and we manage with break even in business,” said its president M. Mohamed Akbar.
He said difficulty in getting e-pass was also a reason behind the low patronage.