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"

Friday 29 November 2013

New Passenger from Kozhikode arraives

(The Hindu dt 1-12-2013)
(Mangalam dt 1-12-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 1-12-2013)
(Veekshananm dt 1-12-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 1-12-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 1-12-2013)
(Deshabhimani dt 1-12-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 1-12-2013)
(Deshabhimani dt 1-12-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 30-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 30-11-2013)

Sunday 24 November 2013

Homages to Er. M.N Prasad

TRPA pays Tributes to the departed Railway Officer who pushed for the Railway development of Keralam.
(Malayala Manorama dt 25-11-2013)

RAIL IS THE WAY FORWARD

At a time when the government is set to push for getting maximum trains and projects for the state in Rail Budget 2014, the draft Kerala Perspective Plan, 2030 has pointed out the urgent need for scientific development of rail infrastructure in the state. The draft, prepared with technical assistance of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi, has pointed out that Kerala’s railway infrastructure is overworked, compared to other developed and developing countries or even a few states in the country. 
For example, a country like The Netherlands has double the total rail line (3,016km) of Kerala (1,050km) but carries less freight and passenger traffic. Sadly, the density route length of Kerala has remained the same for over a decade at 27.02 per 1,000 sq km. In contrast, it went up from 36.55 in 2000-01 to 37.33 in 2008-09 for Bihar. The figures for these periods were 4.29 and 14.39 for Tripura, 41.92 and 43.83 for West Bengal, and 72.73 and a whopping 145.45 for Chandigarh. 
The figures show that while the state focused on road connectivity, the authorities ignored railways, a much cheaper and faster freight-passenger movement option. 
The NCAER has suggested 
that the rail network should include options like Metro, monorail and MEMU services for travel both within cities and within the state. 
The state had 23,369 railway passengers per kilometre in 2011, and the figure is expected to touch 37,367 in 2020 and 62,949 in 2030. Unless the state has better railway network, the anticipated passenger and freight load would be transferred to the roads, according to the draft. Experts point out that improving rail network solely depends on the Centre’s financial support and unless the state government and MPs from the state join together, the dream of improving railway network will never be a reality.

(Times of India dt 25-11-2013)

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Monday 18 November 2013

ON TRACK

Shoranur-Koz rail electrification to be completed by February 2014

Kozhikode: The ongoing electrification works on the Shoranur- Kozhikode stretch will be completed by February 2014, Southern Railway general manager Rakesh Misra has said. 
    The electrification works on the stretch, part of the Rs 375-crore Shoranur-Mangalore electric line project, have been completed up to Parappanangadi. 
    Officials said they would be able to increase the number of coaches in 
trains and operate trains at higher speeds with the completion of the works. Also, the mainline electric multiple units (Memu) services announced on the Kozhikode- Coimbatore and Kozhikode-Ernakulam routes can be started. 
    The electrification work in the Kozhikode- Mangalore stretch, which started off in April 2011, is expected to be completed by March 2015. 
    The general manager was here on an inspection tour of track, stations and 
rail infrastructure on the Kozhikode-Shoranur route to assess the general upkeep of stations, tracks and passenger amenities. 
    Misra said the delay in land acquisition had affected track doubling and other rail development activities in parts of the state. The Rs 300-crore master plan prepared by government consultancy Kitco to upgrade Kozhikode railway station in public-private participation (PPP) mode had been submitted to the Railway Board for approval. He, however, said the response from private firms to part
ner in the Kanjikode rail coach factory had been lukewarm. 
    The inspection tour, on board a special train, covered six other stations, including Farook, Kadalundi, Tanur, Tirur, Pattambi and Shoranur. The flagging off of the new Kozhikode-Thrissur passenger train during the tour has been postponed. 
    Palakkad divisional railway manager Piyush Agarwal and heads of railway departments were present.
(Times of India dt 19-11-2013)

Thursday 14 November 2013

Developments in Guruvayur

(Mathrubhumi dt 21-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 21-11-2013)
(Mangalam dt 19-11-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 20-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 19-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 18-11-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 18-11-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 14-11-2013)

Wednesday 13 November 2013

One more passenger to Malabar

(Mathrubhumi dt 29-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 28-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 18-11-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 16-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 16-11-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 16-11-2013)
(The Hindu dt 16-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 14-11-2013)

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Inordinate delay of Ernakulam - Shornur Passenger

Late running passenger train puts women in a spot
(By Express News Service - KOCHI. Published: 15th November 2013 12:00 PM)
Creating a major hassle for passengers, especially the womenfolk, the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger train has been operating nearly an hour late on most days.
The passenger service had gained notoriety when 23-year old Soumya was dragged out of its women’s compartment and killed in 2011. Ever since the implementation of the revised timings in June, the train is once again becoming a nightmare to the women passengers as it reaches their destination only after 9.30 pm on most days.
“Earlier the timing was passenger-friendly. However, as per the new timings, the train is supposed to leave Ernakulam Junction by 6.05 pm and reach Edappally at 6.21 pm. However, on most days, the train reaches the station only at 6.45 pm. It is unnecessarily halted for more than five to ten minutes at Kalamassery, Aluva and Angamaly railway stations,” said Manikandan, a railway passenger.
According to the passengers, by the time the train reaches Shoranur railway station, it is well past 9.30 pm. “Many-a-time, women passengers are forced to sleep over night at their friends’ home.
Also, some of the women passengers complained that they are being subject to their family’s ire and concern. Women are forced to stand outside the Shoranur bus stand at odd hours of the night. If the railways does not address our concern seriously, we will be forced to resort to protests,” the commuters said.
The passengers cited that they have approached the railway authorities and forwarded memorandums to several people’s representatives. On Monday, the passengers held a meeting with Ernakulam Railways area manager P L Ashok Kumar.
When contacted, Ashok Kumar said that he would forward a request to Chennai seeking a change in timing. Since prominence is given to the Express trains such as Chennai Express, Kanyakumari-Bangalore Express and Janashatabdi Express which halt at these stations, the passenger trains are given clearance only after these trains depart, he said. He sought the passengers to bear the difficulty for another two weeks after which the issue is expected to be resolved.
The passengers also demanded that the railway authorities should ensure that the train leaves Ernakulam Junction at least 20 minutes early according to the revised timings of the Shoranur-Ernakulam Passenger service.
(The New Indian Express, Kochi dt 15-11-2013)
(Madhyamam Kochi dt 9-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 8-11-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 8-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama Kochi dt 8-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama Kochi dt 7-11-2013)

Monday 4 November 2013

Basic necessity being ignored?

(Malayala Manorama Alappuzha dt 7-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama Alappuzha dt 6-11-2013)
(Malayala Manorama Palakkad dt 5-11-2013)