KOCHI: The Railways on Thursday refuted the allegations raised by various passenger associations in the state regarding the inadequacy of the trains to Kerala during the holiday season.
According to Southern Railway spokesperson, it is wrong to say that the announcement of special trains came in late. “The Southern Railway takes sincere efforts in meeting the travel needs of all passengers, especially during the festival and holiday seasons. Meticulous planning across departments is done before the announcement of special trains. Also, trains are notified well in advance to facilitate advance booking for passengers,” said the spokesperson. According to him, it is factually incorrect to say that the information regarding the trains was announced late.
“Most of the 51 special trains were notified well in advance, not on Wednesday,” the spokesperson said. The communique issued on Wednesday was to point out the Southern Railway’s initiative to run special trains serving Kerala, and the total number of trains announced thus far was highlighted to make the public aware of it, said the spokesperson.
“For the convenience of Kerala-bound passengers, 60 special trains were notified so far for this Christmas and New year festive season. This is much higher than the 16 and 47 special trains announced respectively during 2021-22 and 2019-20. The number of special trains notified during this year has even surpassed that of pre-Covid times.
It may be noted that no special train was operated in 2020-21 owing to the Covid situation. It is reiterated that every effort is taken by Southern Railway to cater to the ever-increasing demand of passengers for additional services during peak seasons,” said the spokesperson.“Moreover, additional train services for Malabar-bound Kerala passengers will be notified shortly. About 10 more special train services are planned during this festival season,” the spokesperson added.
MYSURU-KOCHUVELI SPECIAL TRAINS
A pair of special trains will be additionally operated between Mysuru Jn and Kochuveli for the convenience of passengers during this Christmas. Train No 06211 Mysuru Junction – Kochuveli Special will leave Mysuru Jn at 23.30hrs on Friday (December 23) and Sunday (December 25) -- two services -- and reach Kochuveli at 19.20hrs the next day.
New Year Special services
South Western Railway has notified special trains to clear extra rush during New Year. Train No 06221/06222 Mysuru – Kannur– Mysuru Festival Specials will operate on December 30 and January 1, 2023, (Friday and Sunday).