(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.
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)
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