RailEnquiry

KOCHI: The facility to avail the railway emergency quota (EQ) from Ernakulam which was transferred to the divisional headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram last week was restored on Sunday. The decision was announced when the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) and railway board engineer (Electrical, Signalling and Telecom) Khul Bhooshan visited the Ernakulam station to study the possibilities of improving freight traffic, cost cutting measures and safety issues. The EQ facility was shifted on April 5 as the Ernakulam area manager, who is responsible for issuing the EQ tickets, went on a sick leave. But following the protests by railway unions, an assistant commercial manager has now been deployed on temporary basis to deal with the EQ applications. Meanwhile, the DRM rubbished the allegations that the Ernakulam area manager’s post was eliminated and said that unwanted rumours were being spread by the railway staff who had their own agenda. “There have never been plans to eliminate the post. We understand the importance of such a post in Ernakulam. It was only a temporary move,” the DRM said. When asked about the move to withdraw the staff in area manager’s office and his car, the DRM said it was not necessary for the area manager to have a car.