Clamour to reinforce normal coaches on trains, MEMU rakesgrows louder

The inordinate delay in finishing the four- and six-laning of the NH 66 and NH 544 corridors that cross by Kerala, and the ensuing shift to trains by a portion of inter-district passengers, has led to worsening congestion in MEMU rakes and normal coaches of trains passing by Ernakulam.

“Hundreds of passengers are pressured to journey in overcrowded coaches. The Railways should take pressing steps to reinforce the variety of coaches in MEMU trains and to introduce at the least one extra MEMU service from the district to neighbouring districts. Elderly individuals, youngsters, and girls are the worst affected by the crammed circumstances inside the coaches,” mentioned P. Krishnakumar, normal secretary of the Thrissur Railway Passengers’ Association (TRPA).

“Passengers within the Ernakulam–Shornur hall are notably agitated by the unprecedented congestion within the Ernakulam–Shornur MEMU (Train quantity 66320). The state of affairs is particularly insufferable on Fridays and Saturdays, when the common 16-coach rake is changed by a 12-coach rake, usually leaving passengers gasping for breath. It can be worrisome that the Ernakulam–Palakkad MEMU (Train quantity 66610) operates with solely eight coaches. Congestion is equally acute within the Alappuzha–Kannur Express (Train quantity 16307). The Railways ought to allot satisfactory coaches to each the Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad railway divisions so that each one MEMU and different short-distance trains can function with 16 coaches daily of the week,” the TRPA demanded in a memorandum lately submitted to Union Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi.

MEMU shed

Friends on Rails, a collective of normal passengers on the Kollam–Ernakulam route, has additionally expressed its concern over the worsening congestion in MEMU and short-distance trains, in addition to within the normal coaches of categorical trains in Kerala. “The Railways should make optimum use of the MEMU upkeep shed at Kollam by introducing extra such trains and augmenting coaches in eight- and 12-coach MEMU rakes. This is essential, as there have been situations of individuals fainting in crammed coaches on account of suffocation,” mentioned Liyons J., normal secretary of the collective.

The collective has been demanding that the Railway function 16-coach MEMU rakes throughout peak hours within the southern districts and to Ernakulam through each Kottayam and Alappuzha, to supply reduction to commuters affected by the continuing NH improvement works.

Railway sources attributed the shortfall of MEMU coaches to the necessity to deploy a 12-coach MEMU rake each time its 16-coach counterpart is withdrawn for upkeep. This, they mentioned, was additionally the explanation for not having the ability to increase coaches in different MEMU rakes.