Title - Decision on Kochuveli-Bangalore Express might be delayed

Thiruvananthapuram: The conversion of the tri-weekly Kochuveli-Bangalore Express to a daily train now depends solely on the pressure exerted by the peoples’ representatives from the state. Highly-placed sources in the Southern Railway (SR) said that a decision in this matter might take months since no discussion in this regard is going on at the headquarters in Chennai at the moment.
    A senior official from the SR operating department in Chennai told TOI that for the time being, train no 16315/16316 Kochuveli-Bangalore-Kochuveli express would continue to be a tri-weekly one with the same timings.
    “SR has completed all formalities related to running the train as a daily service. However, following protests by passengers from Kerala and Bangalore regarding the change in timings, the decision was withdrawn. The change in timing was inevitable since it would be very difficult to operate the train considering the already congested lines. Now both the railway zones require time to analyze the situation and arrange other services without causing problems for the train in question. However, no discussion is underway at the moment and a decision might take three to four months,” the official said. Meanwhile, passenger associations are planning to continue their protests till the objective is met.
    “We are studying the matter. Steps will be taken to ensure that people face no difficulties due to change in timings,” said state minister in charge or railways Aryadan Mohammed.