THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The railways have intervened to solve the congested travel plight of the passengers of Venad Express. It has been decided to run the Kollam-Ernakulam MEMU service from October 7. The order is likely to be issued today.

The rush of passengers is more on the Kayamkulam-Kottayam and Kottayam-Ernakulam train routes. MEMU services have been proposed on the Punalur-Kottayam and Kollam-Ernakulam routes as a solution to this. The move is to implement one of these soon.

The Palaruvi Express from Tuticorin reaches Kollam at 4.50 am. Palaruvi Express, which used to start from Punalur and went to Palakkad earlier, was extended to Tuticorin. That's why the congestion on this train increased. When Palaruvi Express reaches Kottayam at 6.58 am, it will be too crowded for passengers to board. The next train to the north is the Venad Express. It will reach Kollam at 6.40 pm. The Venad Express, which reaches Kottayam at 8.30 pm, will also be crowded when those who do not board the Palaruvi Express and regular passengers join in. The decision to conduct a MEMU service between Palaruvi Express and Venad Express to Ernakulam was taken in view of this. The timetable of the MEMU will take into account the Vande Bharat Express, which reaches Kollam at 6 am. The MEMU will reach Ernakulam South station. Venad Express, which earlier ran through the South, is now going through The North Station. With this, the passengers to the South were in a crisis. This too had led to protests.

Headache for railways

Increasing the number of MEMU services is a headache for the railways. The problem is the lack of basic amenities. Eight trains will arrive at Ernakulam South railway station in the morning. There are only six platforms available. Only Kollam has the facility to service MEMU rakes in Kerala. The construction of the MEMU service centre has come to a standstill as the Kollam Corporation is obstructing over a land-related issue.