Title - Train timings rescheduled

Due to heavy rains, the monsoon train time table will come into effect from Monday. It will be implemented till Oct 31. The monsoon time table is implemented on the Konkan railway route every year to ensure the train safety during the season. This seasonal timetable was introduced after a a train got derailed by hitting against a huge boulder on Konkan rail route in 2004.

Following the mishap, lakhs of saplings were planted and nettings and embankments created along the route to prevent soil erosion.

A release from the Thiruvananthapuram division has stated that train timings of Train No.12617 Ernakulam-Nizamuddin Mangla Express will be advanced by nearly three hours. The train, instead of starting at the usual 1.05 pm timing, will depart from Ernakulam Junction at 10.45 am.

Its departure timings at main stations are as follows:  Shoranur (1.05 pm), Calicut (3.05 pm), Kannur (4.55 pm) and Mangalore junction (7.50 pm). 

Train No. 16337/16338 Okha-Ernakulam Express (biweekly) will be partially cancelled between Hapa and Okha.

Train No. 12620 Mangalore Central-Lokmanya Tilak Matshyagandha Express will leave Mangalore Central at 12.50 pm instead of 3.35 pm.

Train No. 12134 Mangalore Junction-Mumbai CST Express will leave at 4.45 pm instead of 2 pm.

Thomas Simon, secretary for the Western India Passengers’ Association, has said the monsoon time table should not be extended till October. “The monsoon time table is implemented by the Konkan railway for the safety of its passengers. Precautions are being taken because of the accident that took place a few years ago. This is good, but instead of changing the timings of the trains till October, what the Konkan railways should do is only bring in the time change when there is heavy showers. The heavy showers will decline before August. With the schedule change, trains across India, including in Kerala, will be delayed. This is a huge nuisance for people who commute to several locations because invariably most of the trains will get delayed. Passenger trains will also be affected,” he said.

Passengers associations have demanded that the Konkan Railways slow down the trains on the route rather than at destination points.

The Konkan Railways is yet to take ardent steps to ensure the safety of trains between Adavali and Ratnagiri railway stations which are prone to soil erosion.