Thrissur Railway Passengers' Association, TRPA is the confluence of all the stake holders who are interested in the development of Railway facilities in and around Thrissur. Naturally, all the people who avail Railway facilities from Thrissur and other neighbouring stations are automatically the members of this association. Due to the historic reasons, commuters from Thrissur towards Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Palakkad sides form the active group. TRPA always stands for meeting the public demands and this process is well supported by Railway Men, Political Leaders and the Media in Thrissur. The tireless efforts by TRPA in achieving the long standing basic requirements of Thrissur are well recognised and appreciated by one and all. TRPA is committed to continue its service to the society at large, cutting across all divisions. "Our prime focus is on the sustainable improvement of rail service in the country to world class levels with special emphasis on Thrissur"

Tuesday 30 July 2013

SEASON TICKETS IN RESERVATION COACHES

(Mathrubhumi dt 14-8-2013)

(Mathrubhumi, Kochi dt 12-8-2013)

Rly season ticket holders seek facilities

T Ramavarman TNN 

Kochi: The high court order reaffirming the ban on travel of railway season ticket holders in sleeper class compartments and the railway drive against such passengers have again brought the plight of short-distance commuters to the fore.

Passenger associations point out that inadequate avenues of travel force season ticket holders to board the sleeper coaches. The state had seen a massive shift from road to rail for short distance travel in the recent years owing to variousreasons, the lower rail fares being the foremost among them.

Reports show that over 60% passengers in Thiruvananthapuram railway division are short-distance commuters, but there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of short-distance trains. “Kerala probably has the lowest number of passenger trains,’’ says P Krishnakumar, general secretary of Thrissur Railway Passengers’ Association (TRPA).

The introduction of more MEMU trains linking various towns was mooted as a solution to this but the MEMU sheds at Palakkad and Kollam, sanctioned after protracted agitations, are still being underutilised. On the other hand, the timings of the few MEMU trains sanctioned recently are unsuitable to those travelling during the peak office hours. 

Interestingly, even the express trains passing through the state have not been sanctioned adequate stops. For instance, the Nagercoil-Mangalore Ernad Express has just two stops, Aluva and Thrissur, in the crowded Ernakulam-Shoranur stretch. 

Krishnakumar says the predominance of long-distance trains over short-distance and passenger trains was much more acute in the state in the past but more stops were sanctioned for long-distance trains then. Citing the examples of Chennai-Alappuzha Express, Mumbai-Kanyakumari Express and Bangalore-Kanyakumari Express, he says the short-distance passengers are forced to depend on such trains.

The revenue from shortdistance passengers is also significant now. According to senior officers in the railway commercial section in Thiruvananthapuram, nearly 20% of the Rs 100-crore passenger ticket revenue earned by the division a month is from shortdistance passengers.

(Times of India dt 5-8-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 1-8-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 1-8-2013)
(Malayala Manorama Kochi dt 1-8-2013)

‘Repeated petitions won’t change court’s stance’

Kochi: Repeated petitions seeking permission for season ticket holders to travel in reservation compartments in trains isn’t going to change the court’s stance that it cannot be allowed, said Kerala high court on Tuesday. A division bench comprising chief justice Manjula Chellur and justice K Vinod Chandran made these observations while dismissing a petition filed by Nasarudeen of Kollam. 
Demands raised by the petitioner were to allow season ticket holders to travel in unreserved seats, if any, in reservation compartments and to permit more general compartments for commuters with season tickets. 
The ban imposed by railways on season ticket holders to travel in reservation compartments is a policy decision. Therefore, the court cannot issue an order in favour of the petitioner directly, the court held. 
Further, the court pointed out that similar orders were issued by the high court in 2001 and 2002. Yet another order was issued this year itself. The matter, which has been settled as public interest litigation 
many times, is being filed repeatedly, the court criticized. 
In January this year, the same division bench that considered the petition on Monday had dismissed an appeal on the same issue. 
The appeal was filed by Kozhikode-based Railway First Class Season Ticket Passengers Association and three commuters. 
It was contended that season ticket holders were allowed to travel in reservation coaches for the past 20 years and stopping such a facility would put commuters to immense hardship and inconvenience. 
The court had held that there is no doubt that railways can impose such a restriction as it is a policy decision depending upon the financial constraints. 
Further, the court had clarified that commuters don’t have any statutory right to raise such a demand and that a division bench’s order in 2001 denying the claim of commuters has become final.
(Times of India dt 31-7-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 31-7-2013)

Friday 19 July 2013

Boarding station system unified


(Malayala Manorama dt 20-7-2013)

Extend 56602 to Thrissur

(Malayala Manoraman Kannur Edition dt 20-7-2013)
(Kerala Kaumudi dt 20-7-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 20-7-2013)
(Mangalam dt 20-7-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 20-7-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 20-7-2013)

Trichur to Thrissur

(Malayala Manorama dt 18-7-2013)

Thursday 18 July 2013

Reinstate earlier timing of 56608 Passenger

(Mathrubhumi dt 20-7-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 19-7-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 19-7-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 18-7-2013)
(Kerala Kaumudi dt 18-7-2013)

Monday 8 July 2013

Season ticket holders beware

(Malayala Manorama dt (23-7-2013)
(The Hindu dt 23-7-2013)
(Malayala Manorama Kollam dt 9-7-2013)

Thursday 4 July 2013

Winning a battle

Passengers have been fighting against the Railway decision to revise the timing of this train while converting it into daily from 3 days a week, for the last 1 year. Finally justice is done. Kerlam gets another daily night train to Bangaluru after many years of demand).
(Mathrubhumi dt 4-7-2013)

Protest against delayed departure

(Malayala Manorama Ernkulam dt 3-7-2013)
(Malayala Manorama Thruissur 3-7-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 3-7-2013)
(Mangalam dt 3-7-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 4-7-2013)