Passenger rush in Kerala: Southern Railway mulling adding extra coaches to major trains

Kannur: Railways may increase the number of coaches on the three busiest trains in Kerala. A minimum of one coach may be added to the Parasuram, Venad and Vanchinad express trains, sources told Mathrubhumi.

A series of reports published in Mathrubhumi newspaper about the rush in the trains reminiscent of the Wagon Tragedy seems to have caught the eyes of the top officials at the headquarters of Southern Railways in Chennai, forcing them to find a temporary solution.

There are pantry cars on the Parasuram and Venad express trains. Authorities are mulling over adding at least a single coach to these trains, even if they have to remove pantry cars from these trains. There is no pantry car on Vanchinad Express. The decision of the commercial department is awaited in this regard. There is also a possibility that the time schedules of some of the trains may be restructured.

PK Krishnadas, BJP leader and former chairman of Southern Railway Passenger Amenities, said that officials have assured to add an additional general coach to the Parasuram express. He also informed us that he had held a discussion with SK Singh (General Manager, Southern Railways), regarding the difficulties faced by passengers on the trains. Meanwhile, the Kasaragod Railway Passengers Association has filed a complaint with the chairman of the District Legal Services Authority citing the miseries of train passengers.

“We have sent numerous letters to both the union railway minister and the concerned board members requesting them to find a solution to the rush in trains and to address the other problems faced by train passengers on a daily basis. It is important that the timings of trains including the Vande Bharat Express are restructured. Lack of tracks is also a major concern,” said minister V Abdurahiman, responding to the issues faced by train passengers in Kerala.