THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The abrupt and indefinite cancellation of passenger trains in Thiruvananthapuram division, starting on Monday, will seriously affect hundreds of passengers who commute daily in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode section. Eight passenger trains have been cancelled, since Monday, citing the absence of loco pilots. Many of the pilots from flood-affected districts are still at relief camps.
The commuters who depend on the now-cancelled trains on a daily basis demanded that Southern Railway authorities restore services at the earliest. According to T P Dipu Lal, Kollam District president of the Railway Passengers Association, the cancellation caught passengers unawares and many of them could not get to their offices or back home on time. The association said it has caused a huge inconvenience, especially to season ticket holders.
“The cancellation was uncalled for. In fact, many railway officials including some station masters are still unaware of this move. Utter confusion prevailed in all railway stations after the cancellation was announced,” said Dipu. The association also demanded the intervention of higher authorities to rope in the service of retired loco pilots for the time being. “In the past, retired loco pilots have filled in when there were similar demands. If the railways do not provide an alternative, we will register strong protests in front of the Railway Divisional Office in the coming days,” he said.
Meanwhile, S K Sinha, Thiruvananthapuram Railway Divisional manager, said train services will be restored within a week, except for the Guruvayur section.“The trains were not cancelled due to the dearth of loco pilots. In fact, about 20 loco pilots were affected and half of them have returned. We can manage with the present staff. The real cause behind the cancellation is that work is being carried out on the tracks in the Gurvayur section. The restoration of tracks is also underway and it will be also cleared soon,” Sinha told Express.
Full cancellation
Train No. 56043
Guruvayur-Thrissur Passenger
Train No. 56044
Thrissur-Guruvayur Passenger
Train No. 56333
Punalur-Kollam Passenger
Train No. 56334
Kollam-Punalur Passenger
Train No 56373
Guruvayur-Thrissur Passenger
Train No 56374
Thrissur-Guruvayur Passenger
Train No. 56387
Ernakulam-Kayamkulam Passenger via Kottayam
Train No. 56388
Kayamkulam-Ernakulam Passenger via Kottayam
Partial Cancellation
Train No 56663
Thrissur-Kozhikkode Passenger, is partially cancelled on the Thrissur-Shoranur section
Train No 56664
Kozhikode-Thrissur Passenger, is partially cancelled on the Shoranur-Thrissur section
Train No. 56365
Guruvayur-Punalur Passenger is partially cancelled on Kollam-Punalur section.
Train No. 56366
Punalur-Guruvayur Passenger is partially cancelled on Punalur-Kollam section