Rail passengers may have to rebook tickets

Union Ministry approves State govt.’s demands on one halt in a district

With the Ministry of Railways approving the Kerala government’s demand to remove halts at destinations other than one station in a district for special trains beginning on June 1, several passengers who had booked tickets in advance will now have to cancel or rebook their tickets at the nearest allotted stations, even for travel within the State.

The Railways have been sending SMS alerts to passengers who have booked tickets online, stating that the full refund is being arranged owing to the regulations adopted by the State government.

The norm is applicable even for Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi Express and Kozhikode-Thiruvananthapuram Jan Shatabdi Express. The trains will not have the regular halts at Aluva, Cherthala, Kayamkulam and Varkala Sivagiri.

Likewise, the Jan Shatabdi trains in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur section will not have the regular halts at Thalassery, Vadakara, Mavelikkara and Kayamkulam.

Railways officials said the State government did not have the facilities and manpower to check passengers at those stations. Many passengers said that a halt at Kayamkulam should have been considered for the benefit of people commuting from that station to Onattukkara regions as well as the eastern and southern parts of Alappuzha, Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts.

Similarly, the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Thiruvananthapuram Central Express will not halt at Varkala Sivagiri, Karunagapally, Kayamkulam, Haripad, Cherthala, Aluva, Divine Nagar, Kuttipuram, Tirur, Parappanangadi, Vadakara, Thalassery, Kannapuram, Payyannur and Kanhangad.

The Ernakulam-Hazrat Nizamuddin-Ernakulam daily superfast special will not have halts at Aluva, Pattambi, Kuttipuram, Parappanangadi, Feroke, Koyilandy, Vadakara, Thalassery, Payyanur, Nileshwar and Kanhangad.

Meanwhile, the Railways has said that passengers would get the full refund for trains cancelled till June 30. Users need not cancel their e-tickets and full fare will be credited into the bank accounts from which the payments were made.