At a time when railway authorities have decided to revoke the halt granted for Parasuram and Island Express trains at Tripunithura Railway Station citing low revenue generated from the station, reply to a Right to Information(RTI) query on revenue generated by ticket collection at the same station prove that the claim is wrong. The RTI was filed by residents of the area. According to the RTI reply, the average revenue from ticket collection has increased after the authorities allotted halt for the express trains at the station last year. It also proves that the station collects more revenue comparing to the nearby railway stations where more express trains have got a stop. “The average ticket revenue in a month after the Parasuram and Island Express were allowed halt at the station, is around `51.4 lakh. Only 14 express trains have stop at the station. However, the ticket revenue at Cherthala, where 28 express trains have got halt, the average revenue is is `40.9 per month. Also, the income of Mavelikkara and Karunagappally railway stations where authorities have allotted stop for more than 30 express trains are `48.7 lakh and 50.3 lakh respectively,” the RTI states. Tripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents Association (TRURA) Chairman V P Prasad said condemned that fact that though the revenue collection from the station is higher than other larger stations nearby, the authorities want to cancel the halt of the newly allotted express trains.
“Earlier, authorities had decided to allot halt for the express trains at the station from November 9, 2013 to March 8, 2014. They put forward a condition that permanent halt will be allotted for the trains at the station if the ticket revenue increases. Though the ticket revenue at the station is increasing day by day and it is higher than other nearby stations, the authorities are not ready to keep their word. People here will not tolerate the injustice,” he said. Meanwhile, TRURA secretary V C Jayendran said that though the status of the railway station has been upgraded to ‘Adarsh’ station, the railway station is still in a dilapidated condition. “There is no good roofing over the platforms, no public toilets and no proper seating arrangements. The approach road to the station is unusable and it is in a dilapidated condition. Moreover, the station has only two staff for ticket distribution,” he added. Tripunithura Municipal authorities said that they will appeal the railway authorities to take necessary steps to develop the railway station considering the extension of metro rail to Tripunithura. Meanwhile, sources with the railway authorities said that the tarring of the approach road of the railway station will commence immediately. “Tender procedures in this regard have been completed,” they said.