CHENNAI: Despite unreserved passengers continuing to occupy reserved coaches in large numbers across all trains, Southern Railway has reduced the number of general class coaches available for unreserved travel in 13 pairs of trains. The removed coaches will be replaced with air-conditioned three-tier coaches. According to a Southern Railway order on February 15, the revised coach composition will take effect from February 21.
The move may potentially result in more commuters travelling to Arakkonam, Katpadi, Walajah, and Jolarpettai from Chennai during the evening occupying reserved coaches, especially on Alappuzha Express, Thiruvananthapuram Mail and Kaveri Express.
Two of four general compartments were cut in five express trains — Chennai-Mysuru Kaveri Express, Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram Mail, Chennai Central-Alappuzha Superfast (SF) Express, Kochuveli-Nilambur Road Rajya Rani Express and Ernakulam-Velankanni Express.
Similarly, in eight trains — Chennai-Erode Yercaud Express, Chennai Central-Hyderabad Deccan SF Express, Chennai Central-Nagercoil SF Express, Puducherry-Mangaluru Central Express, Villupuram-Kharagpur SF Express, Puducherry-Kanniyakumari Express, Chennai Central-Palakkad Express and Tirunelveli-Purulia SF Express — the number of general compartments has been cut to three from four.
Currently, railways issue around 600 to 700 unreserved tickets for trains that have only two general class coaches, which can accommodate a maximum of about 350 passengers at a time. Railway officials said the alteration aligns with a railway board policy issued two years ago, which mandates “standardisation of rakes”. As per the policy, the maximum number of unreserved coaches per train should not exceed two.
A former member of the Zonal Railway Consultative Committee criticised the move, saying it will further increase congestion in sleeper class coaches, as more unreserved passengers will be forced to enter reserved compartments at night, inconveniencing ticketed passengers.
“Moreover, as railways do not have a policy to limit the number of unreserved tickets issued per train, the move is expected to cause severe overcrowding on routes like the Chennai-Jolarpettai section and several regions in Kerala,” he added.
On August 19, 2024, a TNIE report based on RTI data revealed that the number of unreserved passengers travelling in reserved coaches increased by 110% in 2023-2024, compared to the previous year. Despite the high ticket demand, the railways have been unable to operate additional trains due to a shortage of loco pilots, ticket-checking staff, and other resources.