(Mathrubhumi Kochi dt 22-6-2015)
(Deepika dt 22-6-2015)
Demu only for demo, it's back to Memu
Railway Min Promises To Bring Demu Train Back
After revealing late the muchhyped new diesel electric multiple unit (Demu) train would be replaced by a mainline electric multiple unit (Memu) rake, railway officials have confirmed that the Demu rake will not have the promised air-conditioned coaches when it returns.
However, the Demu rake that railway minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off on Sunday from Ernakulam Junction had AC coaches, and turned out to be a demonstration of the country's first Demu service.
But when the local area rail service, which connects the suburbs to the city , commences regular service on Monday at 6.30am, passengers will have to do with an old Memu rake.
“The Demu will be withdrawn, as we need only Memu to operate local area services between Angamaly and Piravom Road. However, the Demu will be brought back once the Cochin Harbour Terminus Station (CHTS) becomes a part of the local rail network. The Demu, which was flagged off today , is your train, and we cannot take it away from you,“ said the minister in reply to a request by a people's representative to rethink the decision to replace Demu with Memu.
The minister said that he expected the electrification of tracks to CHTS and the Ernakulam Railway Goods (ERG) Station (the old railway station located behind the Kerala High Court) to be completed in a year.
The Memu rake that will conduct regular local area rail service was seen at platform no 5 of Ernakulam Junction. Though the minister promised that the city would get the same Demu rake used to inaugurate the service, railway sources confirmed there would be no AC coaches when it returns after CHTS and ERG were ready for service. The minister also asked authorities to put in place an integrated plan to run the goods train service since the state depended on other states for many products.
Noting that railways was caught in a vicious circle of poor investments and compromised services, the minister pitched for greater investment to improve the infrastructure of the government behemoth.
The minister also told newspersons that railways would implement the Sabari rail project in Kerala to provide connectivity to south India's major pilgrim centre .
People from city, suburbs fall for local service
We are probably in the interstellar age, but there's something about trains that still attract people, both young and old, even now.
People from the city and suburbs such as Angamaly , Aluva and Pookattupadi were present for the inaugural journey of the country's first Demu train with an AC coach at Kochi on Sunday , from Ernakulam Junction to Aluva. While the trip was free, those who went to purchase the ticket were asked to pay Rs 10.
Commuters were happy to have another service on the busy route and said the Memu train, which would replace the Demu train from Monday , had similar facilities and cleanliness and would to attract more passengers. “I am really happy about taking the maiden journey of Demu. I will keep the ticket and have taken pictures of the interior. I also took the first bus service which began from Vytilla Mobility Hub years ago,“ said Jancy Ebraham, a homemaker who had come down from Pookattupadi to take the first Demu trip.Ubaid C M, a young man who came from Aluva to Ernakulam Junction, wanted more city services like Demu. “Travel will become better if ticket rates are cheap on AC coaches. We need more service like the one launched today . But compared with Memu, Demu is slow.“
Nishad P K, his wife Greeshma Nishad and their daughter Sree Durga P Nishad came from Angamaly to Edappally for a ride on the Demu. Nishad says, “It is very comfortable. Such facilities will attract more people to travel by trains.“
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