Passenger trains remain delayed

KOCHI: Despite numerous pleas,Southern Railway’s Thiruvananthapuram Division is yet to reinstate the passenger trains in the Ernakulam region. Though MEMU services have been resumed, the second wave of Covid-19 is being cited as the reason for the delay in restoration of the full-fledged service

A mid the fears of a second wave of Covid hitting the state, the much-awaited restoration of passenger train services Ernakulam is getting delayed further. The services mainly aided daily-wage workers and government employees who travel to nearby districts.  The demand to reinstate express and superfast was mounting in the last few months.

According to passengers, the discontinuation of many inter-district passenger trains due to poor patronage has put the workers under immense pressure. “Many travel for work to Kochi from districts like Thrissur and Alappuzha. Now, they are forced to stay back in the city. The reduced number of bus services are also affecting them. As many of them wrap up work late in the night, lack of sufficient connectivity is leaving a dent in their pockets. It’s high time that the railway officials considered restarting the services,” said Manikanadan R K, secretary, Edappally Railway Passengers Association.

The resumption of a couple of MEMU train services that connect Ernakulam with Shoranur and Alappuzha has brought in a slight respite to the commuters. The services were restarted on March 15. To aid unreserved travellers, the Railway has set up UTS counters in stations where the trains have stopped to provide general tickets and season tickets. However, passenger associations have demanded the railways reschedule the Shoranur-Ernakulam MEMU service.

As per the current timing, the train leaves Shoranur at 3.30 am, reaches Thrissur at 4.13 am and Ernakulam at 6.50 am. “The service commences at an odd time and many are unable to get on board due to this. Similarly, the train which commences its return trip around 5.30 pm from Ernakulam can be extended to 6 pm to accommodate more passengers. This will at least attract 30-50 per cent new passengers,” said Manikandan.

As the Thrissur-Ernakulam route has been attracting good patronage due to the excessive number of office goers, many are pointing out that resumption will not be a loss for the railways.“There are more than 2,000 daily passengers between the two districts. When the government is allowing all bus services, why hold up passenger trains?” said an official of Thrissur Railway Passengers Association.

Earlier, the Kerala government gave its approval to run passenger and MEMU trains across the state on January 9. Reiterating the same demand, Friends on Rails, a railway passenger organisation organised dharnas in various railway stations. 

No solid plans yet
Meanwhile, railway officials have clarified that they haven’t received permission from the Railway Board to start new services. “There is an election code of conduct till May 2. With a second wave of Covid expected, there is little chance that the trains would be restarted,” said an official at the Thiruvananthapuram Division, Southern Railway.

They have also clarified that the change in timings will be considered at a later stage. “Most of these timings are scheduled to utilise the train rakes to the maximum services. We require additional rakes and manpower to make a change to the ongoing services,” said the official.

Daily passenger trains
Shornur-Kottayam
Guruvayur-Punalur
Guruvayur-Ernakulam
Ernakulam-Shornur
Ernakulam-Guruvayur
Resumed Memu services
Shoranur-Ernakulam
Guruvayur-Punalur