Title - Tough days ahead for railway passengers

KANNUR: With the non-interlocked (NI) works at Shoranur station and the construction of the new platform in Shoranur scheduled to begin on Wednesday, traffic in the Malabar region will be badly hit as several trains along the route have either been canceled or rescheduled. The works will be carried out in connection with the line doubling between Shoranur and Karakkad railway stations.

Though railway officials claim that alternative arrangements are in place to address passengers' difficulty, passengers in Malabar will most likely have a tough time for the next three weeks.

"Steps have been taken to address passengers' concerns," said James Sebastian, public relations officer of the Palakkad division of Southern Railway.

The railways has introduced special bus services between Ottappalam and Shoranur and between Thrissur and Kuttipuram, as some trains will be terminated at these stations.

A special passenger train will also run between Kuttipuram and Mangalore Central

during this period. The train will leave Kuttipuram at 2pm and reach Mangalore Central at 8.25pm, he said.

Though intercity express trains along the route

have not been cancelled, cancellation of the Thrissur-Kannur passenger and Kannur-Shoranur Jn passenger trains will inconvenience passengers, especially for those with season tickets. Many services will also be delayed.

"The railways' arrangements are only for reservation passengers. The problems of those without reservation and season ticket holders have been ignored," said P K Baiju, secretary of Kannur Railway Division Passengers' Assruociation.

No trains were cancelled during the doubling works at the Mangalore-Kasaragod section nearly six months ago, he pointed out. However, the railway authorities said they have been compelled to cancel services due to yard works at Shoranur, including the extension of some platforms and the construction of a new one.

As part of the work, rains between Nilambur and Shoranur will also be cancelled. While some trains will be cancelled from Wednesday, others will be cancelled from October 6 in the Nilambur Shoranur route.

If the KSRTC has any difficulty, district authorities should take measures to issue special permit to private buses to address passengers' woes, said the association.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Malabar Rail Users' Association will meet transport minister Aryadan Muhammed on Tuesday and submit a memorandum requesting the transport department to make immediate alternative arrangements.

"The passengers are already in deep trouble as KSRTC has reduced its services after the diesel subsidy was cut. Cancellation of trains will worsen the situation," said C E Chakkunny, general secretary of the association. To address this problem, the transport department should take measures to start chain bus services linking Palakkad, Ottappalam and Shoranur as well as Thrissur and Kuttipuram. More bogies should be added to trains along these routes, he demanded.