Passengers have demanded more special trains from Kerala to Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and other metros during the Onam season since fares of private luxury buses and flights have increased manifold due to dynamic pricing.
This gains significance since the demand for train services from Kerala to metro cities where there is a sizeable group of Keralites is not confined to weekends as was the norm prior to the pandemic.
“The hybrid mode of work, mainly for IT professionals, has resulted in a demand for trains to Kerala and back being spread through the week, with many professionals preferring to re-join duty mid-week. In this circumstance, the Railways must operate special trains at convenient timings on all days in the run-up to festivals such as Onam,” said Venkitesh P.G., secretary of the Kerala-Bengaluru Train Users’ Forum (KBTUF).
This is because the starting fare of contract carriage buses that operate from cities and towns in Kerala to Bengaluru is now ₹500 or more than during previous years. This is in addition to commuters having to pay up to ₹3,500 per ticket in view of the increase in demand during festive seasons. This is more than double the normal fare of about ₹1,500 per ticket from cities such as Kochi.
“The Railways must announce special trains well in advance so that commuters can plan their trips better. On its part, the KSRTC-Swift must rise to the occasion and operate a few dozen services to Bengaluru since hundreds of commuters now rely on buses operated by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu RTCs. The Railways must also convert weekly and bi-weekly superfast trains as daily trains, while restoring sleeper coaches that were withdrawn from many long-distance trains,” Mr. Venkitesh added.
Passenger associations have been crying foul about the Railways dilly-dallying in announcing more train services from Kerala even after terminal capacity at stations such as Byappanahalli were considerably increased. They also spoke of how completion of track-doubling through Kottayam and the nominal increase in speed of trains have paved the way to introducing more trains to Kerala from Chennai and other metros.
Rickety coaches
Aggrieved passengers have also been posting photos of shoddily-maintained and rickety sleeper coaches of ‘special trains’, like the one operated in the Ernakulam-Velankanni route for a ‘special fare’. They complain of abnormal vibrations and noises from such coaches as the speed exceeded 90 kmph.
Thomas Simon, general secretary of the Western India Passengers’ Association, said the Railways must proactively consider the long-pending demand for more trains from Mumbai to Kerala through the Konkan route. “The demand for trains to Kerala is phenomenal, especially in the Christmas-New Year season, in the Mumbai-Kottayam corridor. Sadly, lobbies from many other States exercise their clout to extend trains to their home States at the expense of commuters from Kerala,” he said.
Responding to the demands, Railway sources said Kerala will be able to host more trains when terminal infrastructure is improved at Kochuveli, Nemom and Nagercoil. The situation would further improve if the Railways took a decision to make optimal use of 100-acres of Railway land spread over Ponnurunni and Kathrikadavu in Ernakulam to host trains and maintain them, they added.
