PALAKKAD: In a major relief to thousands of daily commuters, the Rail-ways has decided to perma-nently increase the number of coaches in the Palakkad Junc tion-Ernakulam Junction MEMU (train numbers 66609/66610) from the existing eight to 12.
The revised formation will come into effect from February 23 thereby significantly improving passenger capacity on one of Kerala's most over-crowded short-distance rail services.
"The MEMU, which currently has a seating capacity of around 600 passengers, has been witnessing severe over-crowding, with more than 3,000 passengers travelling daily. Commuters had complained that the situation made travel uncomfortable and unsafe, especially during peak hours," said a senior railway official.
Once augmented, the train will have a capacity of 900 seats. In addition to the Palakkad-Ernakulam service, the Railways will also permanently augment the Kollam-Ernakulam MEMU (train numbers 06169/06170) and the Kollam-Kottayam MEMU (train num-bers 66316/66315) to 12 coaches from the same date.
"Following sustained pres sure and joint recommendations from the political representatives, railway passengers associations and officers of the Palakkad and Thiruvanan-thapuram divisions, the Southern Railway approved the augmentation. With the addition of four more coaches, the train's seating capacity will increase to 900 passengers, easing congestion considerably," the official added.
The Palakkad-Ernakulam MEMU is a crucial daily commuter link connecting major towns and employment hubs, including Ottapalam, Shoranur, Thrissur, Aluva and Ernakulam.
Earlier, various railway passenger organisations had staged protests and submitted multiple representations demanding additional coaches. Public representatives, including MPs, had also written to the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) seeking permanent augmentation.
Welcoming the permanent augmentation, P Krishnakumar, general secretary of Thrissur railway passengers association, said, "We are happy that the railway authorities are taking proactive steps to improve the travel facilities in Kerala. At the same time, we believe our demand to increase the rake number of all the MEMU and passenger trains to 16 will be considered by the authorities at the earliest. The demand to operate the passenger trains and MEMU service on all days is also pending."