KOCHI: The lack of an ample number of general coaches in the daily express trains is making travelling a gruelling task for commuters. The jam-packed compartments look like torture chambers. On Monday, the heat, lack of fresh air and the congestion inside Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur Venad Express caused a young woman to collapse. Matters became worse when the railway helpline 139 remained unresponsive when passengers dialled the number seeking help for the young woman.
“Why do they have such a number if it is of no help in times of need?” asked Lyons J, secretary of Friends on Rails. According to him, when the woman, who works at a private company in Ernakulam, collapsed, nearly every commuter in the coach tried calling the number one after another. “But nobody picked up the call. Also, though the passengers pulled the emergency chain at Vaikom Road station so that the woman could be shifted to the hospital, the guard, instead of helping out, gave the green signal for the train to move,” he added.
“She was not even given any first aid,” said Lyons. “Vaikom Road station is near the Kottayam-Ernakulam highway and was suitably placed to get a vehicle to shift the woman. But she was only shifted to a hospital after the train reached Piravom Road station,” he said. It is a miracle that more people didn’t have uneasiness and collapse, he added.
According to Nikhila S, a passenger, the irony is that though the general compartments are jam-packed, the reserved coaches are empty. “The reason? The bookings need to be made two days in advance.” Lyons said, “Another funny thing is that though the number of general compartments is very less, the Railways has split one of the coaches into half to accommodate the RMS,” she said.
“Such a rush is normally seen before and after the holidays,” he added. “It doesn’t also help when the passengers have only one minute to board and de-board the train at each station. On Monday, people could be seen running helter-skelter on the platforms searching for an opening of the doors of the coaches. Many gave up. The situation was similar in the case of nearly all trains that are relied upon by the daily office-goers,” said Lyons.
This situation could have been avoided if the Railways hadn’t reduced the number of general compartments in the trains and stopped the MEMU and passenger services, he added.