The murder of travelling ticket examiner (TTE) V. Vinod by a ticketless migrant worker in Thrissur on Tuesday has brought to light the apathy of Railways in addressing the issues faced by both passengers and officials on trains from Kerala to the migrant heartlands in the northern and north-eastern States.
In 2022, a TTE was attacked by a gang of migrant workers on the Ernakulam-Howrah Antyodaya Express for penalising a ticketless traveller.
According to the TTEs under the Southern Railway, the failure of Railways to address the issues on the trains heading from Kerala towards the north and north-eastern States, and the authorities’ “greed” to raise maximum income from a limited number of trains on these routes have increased the face-offs between the TTEs and the migrant workers.
