Kerala: Staff crunch has 8 trains cancelled

Kochi: The divisional railway authorities have found an easy way - and inconvenient to commuters - to tide over acute locopilot shortage– cancel eight peak hour passenger trains for two months so that the crew can be redeployed. The move which will come into force from Saturday, though, has angered short distance commuters as most of the train services included in the list are the ones they depend on because they operate during peak hours.

According to sources, what resulted in the situation is the failure of the authorities to fill up vacancies in a time-bound manner. “The Thiruvananthapuram division currently has 20 vacancies of engine crew to operate passenger trains while there are seven and nine vacancies with regard to Mail/ Express trains and Goods trains. The staff shortage crisis is not new and was there for the last several years. However, the authorities refused to fill the vacancies as part of cost cutting. Now the crisis has reached its peak,” said P N Soman, Zonal Secretary, All India Loco Running Staff Organisation (AILRSA).

However, senior railway officers pointed out that the cancellation was temporary and initiated to facilitate current track renewal works. “Track renewal works are progressing in Kayamkulam-Kollam section. The crew of the cancelled train services will be redeployed to operate the freight and ballast trains so that the works can be finished at the earliest,” said a senior railway officer. However, short distance passengers are a concerned lot over the train services selected for cancellation and also the duration.

“The train services cancelled include popular ones on which hundreds of passengers depend. The move will put them in great difficulty and we request the railways to reconsider the decision. They should try to carry out the safety works during non-peak hours and nights deploying more personnel,” said Paul K J Manvettom, President, All Kerala Railway Users Association.

The following trains are cancelled from December 9 for a period of two months;-
--T No 66300 Kollam-Ernakulam MEMU (Kollam Jn 7.45 am)
--T No 66301 Ernakulam-Kollam MEMU (Ernakulam Jn 2.20 pm)
--T No 56387 Ernakulam-Kayamkulam Passenger (Ernakulam Jn 12 noon)
--T No 56388 Kayamkulam-Ernakulam Passenger (Kayamkulam Jn 5.10 pm)
--T No 66307 Ernakulam-Kollam MEMU (Ernakulam Jn 5.50 am)
--T No 66308 Kollam-Ernakulam MEMU (Kollam Jn 11.10 am)
--T No 56381 Ernakulam-Kayamkulam Passenger (Ernakulam Jn 10.05 am)
-- T No 56382 Kayamkulam-Ernakulam Passenger (Kayamkulam Jn 1.10 pm).