KOCHI: The Southern Railway has approved a special MEMU service on the Kollam-Ernakulam route via Kottayam to resolve the travel woes of commuters caused by overcrowding in trains on the Kottayam-Ernakulam stretch during rush hours.
The special MEMU is scheduled to commence service next week and will run until January 3, excluding Saturdays and Sundays.
As an interim solution to the travel issues along the Kollam and Ernakulam route, the Railways will operate the special service between Palaruvi Express and Venad Express.
The eight-coach service will operate five days a week, departing from Kollam at 6:15am and arriving in Ernakulam at 9:35am. The train will depart from Ernakulam at 9.50am and reach Kollam at 1:30pm.
Notably, there will be five stops in the Kottayam Parliament constituency that include Chingavanam, Kumaranallur, Kaduthuruthi, Kanjiramattom and Chottanikkara Previously, MPs Francis George and Kodikkunnil Suresh from Kottayam and Mavelikara, respectively, had discussions with railway authorities, including the Southern Railway Divisional Manager in Thiruvananthapuram, regarding the travel challenges along the Kayamkulam-Ernakulam route.
Francis George had submitted petitions and engaged in discussions at various levels, urging the Railway Board and relevant officials to address the difficulties faced by the passengers.
Kodikkunnil said the current special service is being operated using rakes borrowed from various divisions of the Southern Railway.
“Once full-time rakes become available from the Railway Board, the Kollam Ernakulam special service will be discontinued, and a new MEMU service will be launched from Punalur to Ernakulam via Kottayam,” he said.
Additionally, Kodikkunnil has requested railway authorities to reinstate the express train that previously ran from Tambaram to Kochuveli via Kollam.
“The Southern Railway Chief Passenger Transport Manager has assured that this service will resume soon. Plans are also in place to introduce special trains from North Indian states ahead of the Puja and Diwali holidays. The Southern Railway headquarters has indicated that special trains to Kerala for the Puja and Diwali holidays will be announced once the current special train services conclude,” he said.
A letter has also been sent to the Railway Minister requesting an additional special train to operate alongside the Velankanni Express on the Ernakulam-Chenkotta-Velankanni route during the Velankanni Church festival. Kodikunnil has also formally requested the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to include Sasthamkotta and Kottarakkara in Kollam under the Amrit Bharat Scheme for the 2024-2025 fiscal.
In his letter, Suresh highlighted the importance of both places as key towns in Kollam, emphasising the need for substantial improvements to the existing railway infrastructure.
He underlined the potential benefits of including these stations in the scheme, which aims to enhance connectivity and foster regional development.