Thiruvananthapuram: Passengers condemn the move by railways reducing the number of general coaches on the Trivandrum- Chennai Central SF Express and Bangalore-Kochuveli Express.
Under Friends on Wheels, they have made a representation to the Union railways minister Piyush Goyal demanding its revocation, saying it had hit commuters hard.
One of the three general coaches on the 12696 SF Express cancelled has made the journey near impossible for the superfast season ticket holders as the lone coach always remains overcrowded.
“The rush in the only available unreserved coaches on the Chennai Central SF Express has become unbearably painful," it says. “Hundreds of commuters depend upon this, the first train to leave the state capital after office hours, at the peak time of 1715 hours."
Its secretary Leons Joseph pointed out that the passengers buying the expensive superfast season tickets were on endless wait for more unreserved coaches due to the very heavy rush.
“The move is a bolt from the blue," he said. “Friends on Wheels petitioned, representing more than 5000 daily travellers between Ernakulam and Trivandrum.”
Similar is the case with the 16315/16316 Kochuveli-Bangalore Express having only two unreserved coaches. On the 16791/16792 Tirunelveli-Palakkad Palaruvi Express there are only seven coaches available at present, cutting short the number of coaches on a daily basis, Mr Joseph added.
