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"

Thursday 18 June 2015

DEMU from Sunday

Demu starts journey on Sunday

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu To Inaugurate Local Train Service

The Aluva-Ernakulam Town-Tripunithura local train service -to be christened `Cochin City Service' -will be inaugurated by railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Sunday .
The diesel electric multiple unit (Demu) service will mark a significant step in rail commuter transport in central Kerala.
After the inauguration, the service will begin regular trips on Monday .
Kochi is the first city in the country to have a local train with two air-conditioned coaches. The service is being developed on the lines of local suburban services in metro cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
“Once we start the service, it will be notified as a localsuburban train service. This will allow the signalling and communication facilities and amenities at stations on the route to be upgraded,“ said a senior official with the Thiruvananthapuram railway division. The first and most important change will be the introduction of an automatic sig nalling system that will enable trains to be run at five-minute intervals. “More trains, both local and long distance, can be introduced. Railways will then approve of additional tracks dedicated to suburban trains.Facilities like seats, foot overbridges (FOBs), ticket counters and shelters at stations will be upgraded,“ said the official.
Meanwhile, railway authorities and the state government informed that railway minister Suresh Prabhu would inaugurate the service on Sunday at 10am at Ernakulam Junction.
TOI was the first to start a campaign for a local service in Ernakulam, and reported about the plan to start such a service on February 22.
A senior official with the railway division said that TOI's report prompted officials to fast-track the project.
The Demu rake will have eight coaches ­ two driving power cars (DPC), two trailing cars for vendors (TCV) and four trailing cars, including an air-conditioned one. While 86 passengers can travel in DPC (52 seating, 34 standing), 343 passengers can travel in a TCV (97 seating, 246 standing). A trailing car (TC) can carry up to 314 at a time (96 seating, 218 standing). The AC coach will have a seating capacity of 96.
As per the tentative timetable, the service will start from Ernakulam Junction at 6am and end at 8.30pm at the same station. The shuttle service will connect Aluva, Ernakulam North, Ernakulam Junction and Tripunithura.
In the evening, there will be single services to Angamaly and Piravom Road.
The timetable and ticket rates of AC coaches will be announced on Friday .
According to authorities, the railways had plans to put the Cochin City Service project on hold.
“Three days back, the Indian Railway had plans to put the project on hold and announce a few long-distance trains to Kerala. They also thought of replacing Demu with Memu.However, on Thursday , we received information that the Demu service will begin on Monday . The railway minister will inaugurate the service on Sunday morning,“ said a source.

TO ALUVA AND BACK IN A JIFFY

Kochi: The Demu service will mainly ease traffic woes of people travelling between Aluva and Ernakulam, railway officials said. Aluva station manager C Balakrishnan said that season tickets were mostly issued to passengers commuting between Aluva and Ernakulam. Those who travel by train from Tripunithura to Ernakulam or Aluva comes to about 600 during peak hours.Around 1,000 passengers travel by buses during peak hours.Paul Manvattom, All Kerala Railway Passengers Association president said, “Currently, only three trains stop at Tripunithura. The new Demu will see more passengers opting for trains.“
Nearly, 5,000 people commute between Aluva and Ernakulam on a daily basis, with about 4,000 season ticket holders travelling between 7am & 10.30am and 4 pm-7.30pm.Around 16,000 passengers travel by buses between Aluva and Tripunithura during peak hours.
(Times of India dt 19-6-2015)
(The Hindu dt 19-6-2015)
(Malayala Manorama Kochi dt 19-6-2015)
(Mathrubhumi Kochi dt 19-6-2015)
This project is totally conceived, mooted, followed up & got approved by Divisional Railway authorities. Hats off to them.
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