Commuters of short distance passenger trains have warned of protest, citing how a large number of passengers are unable to reach their workplaces and homes in time, since their trains are being detained to make way for the newly launched Vande Bharat Express through Alappuzha.
They attributed it to the delay in doubling the 69-km track between Ambalapuzha and Ernakulam and non-availability of automatic signals which would have improved track capacity.
Friends on Rails, a conclave of commuters who travel mainly in the Kollam-Alappuzha-Ernakulam corridor, said the daily schedule of tens of hundreds of regular commuters had been thrown into disarray since express trains too were being detained for 20 to 40 minutes to make way for the Vande Bharat Express. Citing an example, its secretary Liyons J. said the Ernakulam-Kayamkulam train that started from Ernakulam at 6.05 p.m. was often detained at Kumbalam for 40 minutes. This apart, the operating schedule of the Nagercoil-Kottayam passenger train, Ernad Express, and Palaruvi Express too had been affected, while Venad Express was rescheduled.
