KOCHI: On Sunday, the usually hurly-burly Ernakulam South Railway Station wore an orderly look as Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel were all over it. From controlling the vehicular movement to pedestrian movement, they made their presence felt.
Combined with the state police, the RPF commandos took all precautions to avert any untoward incident as part of the visit of Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. Inside the station, on a makeshift stage, state’s Railway Minister Aryadan Mohammed, Mayor Tony Chammany, K V Thomas MP and others patiently waited for the Union Minister. Ending a delay of over one hour past the scheduled time, Suresh Prabhu arrived and walked towards a contingent of RPF personnel, who gave him a guard of honour. Accompanied by Southern Railway general manager Ashok K Agarwal and other top officials of the division, Prabhu briskly walked towards the stage and lighted the ceremonial lamp.
After the addresses of Ashok K Agarwal, Hibi Eden MLA, K V Thomas, Tony Chammany, and Aryadan Mohammed, Prabhu walked towards the mike and said, “I am happy to inaugurate a special service on this special day”, which was followed with a thunderous applause from the audience, a mixture of Railway officials, passengers, politicians and party workers.
“People’s representatives, who spoke before me, had put forward various demands for the state. They complained that some were long-pending ones which are yet to be addressed. My point is that what mars Railways most is cash crunch. To improve the quality of service, new investments are needed. During these five years, we have decided to earmark crores of rupees as investment for the improvement of Railways,” said Prabhu.
Exuding confidence, he said that significant changes could be visible through this move. He also said that Railways are concentrating more on technological incorporation in coaches as the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur, near Chennai, is giving stress to the same while manufacturing coaches.
‘This is Your Train, No One will Take It Away’
Ending speculations that the DEMU will go back to the north-eastern part once the inaugural session concludes, Prabhu said, “This is your train. How could anyone take that away from you?”
Further raising the hopes of the state in Railway-related projects, Prabhu proclaimed that Kerala will get what it deserves and added that in the next Railway budget, the state’s share will be doubled.
DEMU will Run as MEMU
Meanwhile, Railway authorities said that from Monday onwards, MEMU service will be available along the Angamaly- Ernakulam- Tripunithura -Piravom corridor. The service could be availed from Monday to Saturday and the running time has been stipulated as 6.30 am to 9 pm. According to the authorities concerned, the temporary suspension of DEMU was owing to delay in the completion of works at Ernakulam Old railway station and Harbour Terminus station at Willingdon Island.
