KOCHI: Febin (name changed) used to commute between his native Kottayam and Ernakulam, where he worked as a technician, daily on Venad Express. The youth had to resign from his job three weeks ago. The reason: He had to cough up an amount more than 30 percent of his monthly salary as fine for coming late, in three months.
The daily life of Rajani, a housewife, who doubles up as an employee in a semi-government institution in Kochi, shrank nearly four hours as her trip to office begins early. And she returns home late. She has to leave home around 6 am to catch an early train as Venad Express, the train in which she was a regular passenger from 2002, hardly ever reaches Ernakulam South, her destination, on time. Instances of how the late running of trains between Kottayam and Ernakulam, a distance of 63 km, affects the lives of ordinary people can be numerous even as the Railways has varied reasons for this perennial delay. Several passengers working with various offices are suffering as they fail to report in time for duty.
"I used to start at 8.15 am to catch the train from Ettumanoor at 8.27 am. Then, the train used to reach Ernakulam South between 9.30 am and 10 am and I could reach office on time. Later, the train started to reach as late as 11 am. So, six months ago, I shifted to the passenger train at 6.45 am and have to start at 6 am. I have to walk three km as there are no buses at that time. It means my time for family is getting reduced. But how can I make excuses at my office on a daily basis?" said Rajani who hails from a village near Ettumanoor.
"I have two daughters who are students and an 84-year-old mother. My husband is also working. On the return journey too, the train is getting delayed. So I miss buses to my area and would reach home only after 8 pm."Though there is another train to Ernakulam, Palaruvi Express, before Venad, it does not have a stop at her place.
"Following the repeated mishaps in north India, there is an instruction from the authorities to complete the repair works on the tracks across the country on a war footing. Most of the work was pending for more than a decade," said Krishnakumar, Railway Passengers Association, Thrissur. According to him, though the delay is affecting all the trains on the route, the problem is identified only in the morning and evening trains as regular passengers get affected on a daily basis during those times.
On February 2, passengers agitated over the delayed arrival of Venad Express, blocked the train for over an hour at the Kottayam railway station
The arrival time as per schedule at Kottayam was 8.10 am. It was later changed to 8.20 am. However, the train has been arriving over an hour late for the past few months.
Though the arrival time is 9.30 am at Ernakulam, it has been reaching there around 11 am
Sometimes, the train gets stopped at Kottayam or Ettumanoor stations for long durations to give way for other trains the area has a single track