Despite the improvement in the pandemic situation and the full-fledged functioning of all major transportation services, the call of commuters to resume suspended passenger train services under the Southern Railway is yet to evoke any favourable response from the authorities.
Those who have been depending on local trains for inter-district journeys are now forced to depend on superfast train services by paying extra money from their pockets.
Rail passengers’ association leaders point out that not even a single service under the Palakkad division has been resumed. More than half of the previously operated 12 passenger train services are still remaining suspended for unknown reasons.
“Students and small-distance travellers are the worst hit. They are now in a situation to depend on long-distance trains for daily travel,” says Manjusha Vijayan who regularly travels between Kozhikode and Kannur. She adds that the suspension of passenger train services has led to overcrowding in other long-distance trains.
Besides, long-distance trains have no stops in many local stations. Passengers there are now have to depend on inter-district buses. The money they spend for journeys these days is almost the double compared to the expenses for passenger train services.
Meanwhile, the office of M.K. Raghavan, MP, informed that the matter had already been taken up with the Ministry of Railways. Mr. Raghavan, who appealed to the Railway Minister to resume the suspended services, said a recent order issued by the railway board with regard to the resuming of services had ignored Kerala’s demand.
Sources with the railways said efforts were on for the resumption of all suspended services in a phased manner with the approval of the railway ministry.
