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"

Monday 25 March 2013

Commuters laud Memu services


Kochi: The launch of the Ernakulam-Thrissur Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU) service has brought cheers to shortdistance commuters as they need to spend only less than half the fare of express trains. 
They can now travel to Thrissur in two hours at Rs15 compared to Rs 35 in express trains while an Ernakulam-Aluva journey will cost only Rs 5 against Rs 30 in express trains. 
The train leaves Thrissur at 10.50am and reaches Ernakulam at 12.55 pm. In the return direction, it leaves Ernakulam at 2.30pm and arrives in Thrissur by 4.50pm. Railway sources said 300-400 tickets for Thrissur and Aluva are be
ing sold a day on an average for the Netravati Express from Ernakulam Junction station. The number of passengers goes up to even 500-600 on Fridays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, the fast passenger bus fare to Aluva and Thrissur is Rs15 and Rs 55 respectively. 
Railway authorities said 
all passengers travelling from Kochi to Aluva in Netravati are likely to shift their journey to the Memu. “The number of passengers in Memu is expected to go up in the coming days as railway stations on the Ernakulam-Thrissur stretch have a better connectivity compared to other stations,”said area manager (Ernakulam) P L Ashok Kumar. 
“The journey comes at a cheaper rate compared to the express trains and bus. The train should run on all seven days, instead of only six,” said All-Kerala Railway Users’ Association president Paul Manvettom. 
The authorities, however, are worried about the dip in earnings following the launch of Memu services. The introduction of Memu services on Ernakulam-Kottayam-Kollam and Ernakulam-Alappuzha-Kollam routes have resulted in an 80% dip in the sale of tickets for Parasuram Express and Sabari Express from Ernakulam Town. 
“We will conduct a study on impact of Memu services in the revenue,” a railway official said.
(Times of India dt 26-3-2013)

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