Alleppey-Chennai Express got delayed: Passenger to be paid Rs 60,000 as compensation

KOCHI: The Southern Railways has been ordered to pay Rs 60,000 as compensation to a passenger for the inconvenience caused by the delay of Alleppey-Chennai Express by 13 hours. A bench of Ernakulam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission president DB Binu, members Vaikom Ramachandran and TN Srividya ordered that the defaulting Southern Railway should pay Rs 50,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 as court expenses to the passenger within 30 days. The complainant is Karthik Mohanan, a deputy manager in a private company.

Mohanan had booked the train ticket to attend his company's high-level meeting in Chennai. When he reached the Ernakulam railway station, he learned that the train would be delayed by 13 hours. As a result, he was not able to attend the meeting. Many passengers, including students who were scheduled to appear for the NEET exam, also were in crisis. The passenger approached the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission citing that he suffered financial and mental difficulties due to the delay of the train.

The Railways argued that it was not able to take precautionary measures as it was not informed in advance about the purpose of the journey. However, the commission rejected this and found that the delay of the train was caused by the reconstruction of the yard in Arakkonam in the Chennai division. The commission assessed that despite knowing this, the railways failed to provide information and provide facilities to the passengers.