Kochi: More trains to Bengaluru on the anvil

Kochi: In what might provide some respite to hundreds of passengers, the Railways have finally decided to deploy week-end special trains in the high-demand Bangalore sector from centres like Kochuveli and Ernakulam.

This is after Principal Secretary (transport) K.R. Jyothilal called on the Member Traffic, Railway Board, Girish Pillai in New Delhi on Thursday and took up the issue of commuting problems faced by Malayali community working or settled in Bengaluru.

“The top railway official assured the railways will soon operate special services on weekends from Thiruvananthapuram division to Bengaluru for rest of the summer vacation as a temporary measure to cater to the heavy rush.

However, on additional daily trains, he said nothing can be done as of now with the model code of conduct still in force and that the same will be considered later,” Jyothilal told Deccan Chronicle over phone.

Earlier, transport minister A.K. Saseendran, directed the Principal Secretary, already in capital on an official assignment, to take up the issue with the railway higher authorities.

This was after various railway passenger associations requested intervention of the state government in the issue. There were charges from various quarters that the South Western Railway was not interested in deploying new trains in the sector due to pressure from the private bus lobby.

Though the divisional authorities proposed additional trains in the sector, the same was not heeded so far.

Though a new train (Thiruvananthapruam-Bangalore) was announced in 2014 budget, it took four years to finally get the service going. However, the railways soon changed the ‘convenient’ schedule in such a way that the train reaches the Garden city only in the afternoon. This resulted in less commuter patronage.

“Bangaluru-bound passengers from Kerala are frequently being harassed, humiliated and occasionally manhandled by contract carriage staff and hooligans employed by private bus lobby, mainly due to lack of sufficient trains. The number of buses plying daily between Kerala and Bengaluru clearly justifies introduction of two or three daily premium class trains from destinations like Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kannur/Kozhikode etc...,” read a memorandum handed over by the Thrissur Railway Passengers Association to the state Transport Minister  the other day.