Chennai Mail's Status Shift

The new-fangled decision of the railway authorities to amend the category of the highly popular Chennai Mail from its present status of ordinary express to the super fast class has raised protests from all quarters. Even if the railway asserts a host of advantages, out of the class-shift to long distance passengers, the daily commuters who make up the major chunk of the traveling population of this train are all agitated. It is like denying the enjoyed rights all on a sudden. In addition, they feel that the pronouncement of the railways came like a sudden blow.

Problems a Plenty

Super fast trains in the country come directly under the control of the Railway Board and therefore possess some of the most prized privileges. Added speed and minimum stops are the vital luring factors. The Thiruvananthapuram - New Delhi Kerala Express, fitting in to this category should thus certainly bear at least a portion of such features. However, imagine the plight of this super fast train, which provides succour to a large portion of Keralites residing outside the State. The train is unable to keep up the time schedule and the late timings usually rise up to many hours on each trip. This occurs because of a host of negative factors encircled in this particular portion of the rail map. Our tracks falls badly on quality and over utilization of these have worsened the situation. Reports about tracks developing cracks have become common. All these together with a group of other drawbacks mar the speed passage of trains in the State. 

It is in this context that the daily commuters view the decision of the railways suspiciously. The railways are fully aware of the negative situations in the State, and they know that it is difficult to run super fast trains according to schedules. Therefore, the passengers opine that the new decision comes as part of a conspiracy to squeeze more money from season-ticket holders, who depend on trains daily. It is to be noted here that a season ticket holder is not entitled to enter a super fast train unless he purchases a supplementary ticket to this effect. Count the case of an average passenger who relies on the Chennai Mail to come to his work place and go back. He will have to shell out an additional amount of Rs.20/- per day to undertake travel in this train. Excluding the off days, a normal season ticket holder will have to travel for around 25 days a month. The charges of the supplementary ticket thus shoot up to Rs. 500/- a month, quite much above the basic ticket he possess.

Alternative Means Nil

In addition, as no convenient trains are available during this time of the day, when the Chennai Mail trod round the state, it becomes imminent for daily passengers to depend on this train only. Earlier, season ticket holders was permitted to travel in the de-reserved coaches of this train during day-time, which has provided them great relief, as the unreserved coaches are always packed with informal passengers going without reservations to long distances. Now with the status change, it would become impossible to enter the de-reserved coaches, elevating the burdens further. The passengers would have then no option left, but to squeeze into the available space in the unreserved coaches, which comes to just two numbers in the 21 -long rakes of the Chennai Mail.

The case is not different with ordinary ticket holders. They would also be forced to buy sleeper tickets in addition to the supplementary charge, if they wish to travel in the de-reserved coaches during daytime. The only advantage as is cited now is the half hour delay in the departure from both stations, i.e., Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai. The railways state that this delay would be compensated with the extra boost in the speed when the train goes super fast. Nevertheless, this version does not stand because the already doubled track stretch from the capital up to Kayamkulam has already made trains faster. Secondly, the railways are of the opinion that such long distances should be made super fast for the convenience of the passengers. 

Clandestine Decision, says Passengers

Here it should be remembered that around two dozen trains traversing nearly double or triple the distance of the Chennai Mail are still running as ordinary expresses, which itself is a clear cut evidence of shrewd motives - opines the daily commuters of the Kottayam - Ernakulam Sector, who depend exclusively on this train. They also allege that it is a calculated plot of the railways to extract more money from passengers after the presentation of the Union Railway Budget. The fact that the decision came all of a sudden and the way in which, on strict confidential terms, arouses suspicion - the passengers complain. If the proposal was included in the Central Budget, it would then have created protests in the Parliament from the MPs of the State. It was therefore to prevent such unpleasant situations that the administrative top brass of the railways rooted the decision, furtively.

Passengers Irate

At the same time, the passengers are also irritated at the very negative stand exhibited by the State Government and the MPs towards this problem. They groan that even in spite of the State having 29 MPs and a Malayali Central Minister for Railways, not even a single word of protest have come from any end. 

Another major factor note-worthy here is that not a single stop of the train is lifted or any other additional facility is provided in the wake of the status change. It also must be considered that along with the class shift of the Chennai Mail, a new train titled, Ananthapuri Express is to start service from the 30th of this month. Chennai Mail is to change figure from the next day of this train's first run. All these factors double up the suspicions in the minds of daily commuters, especially those belonging to the Sector stretching from the capital up to Ernakulam. The passengers' unanimous demand now is to reinstate the prior status of the Chennai Mail, which is the lone commuting means to a hundreds, perhaps thousands.


S Gopakumar 


The views published in the article are views of the author and not of the
Ramanand multimedia