THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The recently revised train timings have caused inconvenience to the office-goers. With the unjustified delays and the Railways’ failure to relay accurate information, a WhatsApp group - ‘Friends on Rails’- representing nearly 5,000 daily train commuters between Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, was formed to help the passengers with quick and accurate updates of trains.
The members of ‘Friends on Rails’ get the live updates in their WhatsApp group. “Recently the timing of Punalur-Kanyakumari train was revised from 5:05 pm to 4:45 pm, which made it difficult for the commuters working in offices to avail this service,” said Whatsapp group secretary Liyons J.
The new issue raised by the group is the change in the rake of Kollam to Nagercoil passenger train. “Based on the operational feasibility, convenience and utilisation of the Railway, the Kollam - Nagercoil route rake was changed. The only inconvenience the passengers will face is interchanging of the rake from Thiruvananthapuram,” said Thiruvananthapuram station manager Balakrishnan. Railway officials claim that the delay in train timing is usually due to the maintenance work on the tracks. The regular delays in the departure and the arrival of trains has forced the passengers to register a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.
“Passengers can present their complaints to the station division manager and if it is feasible the Railway will do the rescheduling,” said the station manager.
WhatsApp group
‘Friends on Rails’ is a voluntary non-profit organisation.Operating through its 20 WhatsApp groups, the network provides the passengers with all essential information regarding train timings, schedule changes and cancellations.
Among the 20 groups, there are groups which are exclusively for women and its members include government employees, doctors, teachers, lawyers, police officiers, students and railway staff.
“This group is working for the commuters for past three years. Intercity, Vanchinad and Malabar Express train timing was rescheduled recently after our interference with the Human rights commission regarding the inconvenience of the passengers due to the changes in train timings,” said Liyons. As a voluntary organisation, the group is actively involved in charity.
“During floods, the group took active participation in rescue and relief activities. We donated an amount of Rs 1 lakh to CMDRF,” he said. For details and joining, contact Liyons J- 8281217465.