KOCHI: Lack of space, especially during peak office hours of 7am-9am, continues to plague train commuters travelling between Kollam and Ernakulam daily. Though the railways added four more coaches in Palaruvi Express, the situation remains the same.
On Monday, passengers were unable to even enter Palaruvi Express and Venad Express, the two trains used by daily commuters to reach their offices in Kottayam and Ernakulam, said Ajas Vadakedam, executive member of Friends on Rails. He said a large workforce depends on the two trains to reach Kochi, the IT hub of Kerala. “Palaruvi is the first train towards Ernakulam from Thiruvananthapuram followed by Venad Express and then the MEMU,” he said.
“Over 3,000 people are travelling to Tripunithura and Infopark from southern districts by MEMU, Palaruvi and Venad daily,” said Sreejith Kumar, a representative of Friends on Rails, adding that it was worrying that people’s representatives were not doing anything to resolve people’s travel woes.
Ajas said the addition of coaches in Palaruvi brought some relief but did not solve the problems on the Kollam-Ernakulam route.
“On Monday, the train was crowded. Even the police were helpless even though standing near the doors is not allowed. Forget standing, people were clinging from the door handles,” he said. A MEMU service will go a long way in resolving the issue, he said. “It can be operated from Kollam, and can start after Vande Bharat passes Kayamkulam. A temporary solution would be to run an urgent MEMU or passenger service from Kottayam to Ernakulam,” Ajas said.
Sreejith said if the said train leaves for Ernakulam from Kottayam at 7.45am, between Venad and Palaruvi timings, it will end passengers’ woes to an extent. “If the Kayamkulam and Kollam services are extended once technical hurdles are cleared, travel issues can be resolved completely,” he said.
Ajas said even the Kollam-Ernakulam MEMU was crowded on Monday morning. “In Ettumanoor, women passengers could be seen running between coaches, unable to board Venad Express. Even as the train started moving, many were seen clinging on the doors, unable to step inside,” he said.