Kochi: Railways not to up train speed

Kochi: The much-awaited new railway timetable, which will come into force on October 1, is likely to prove a huge disappointment to commuters in the state as not only does it fail to feature new trains from the Thiruvananthapuram division but also does not cut down on travel time of trains despite completion of doubling works in twocrucial sections.

“We are not increasing the average speed of trains this time around as crucial track maintenance works are progressing and speed restriction is in force,” said senior divisional operations manager P.L. Ashok Kumar. “Once we complete urgent works, we will consider cutting down the travel time of trains. Also doubling work is remaining in sections like the 27-km long Kuruppanthara-Kottayam-Chingavanam line.”

The only changes would be the timing of certain peak hour passenger trains by five to 10 minutes. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday dedicated to the nation the newly-built 9.6 km long Tiruvalla-Chengannur double line section while work of the 12 km-long Kuruppanthara-Piravom section is over and slated to be thrown open for rail traffic on October 1. Earlier the traffic department had assessed that trains could save upto 20 minutes upon commissioning of the key sections in the congested 114 km-long Ernakulam-Kottayam-Kayamkulam route.

Post the Karukutty train derailment incident on August 28, the division is focusing on track maintenance, including replacement of tracks. “Now permanent repairs are being done at points where rail fractures have been detected unlike the practice earlier. Also the raw-material shortage has been addressed and track replacement works are progressing at Thrissur-Ernakulam, Kollam-Kayamkulam and Kayamkulam-Harippad sections,” a senior engineering officer said.