Kerala: Announcements at rail stations curbed

Thiruvananthapuram: Passengers depending on announcements at railway stations are feeling the heat. Earlier, announcements of late running, detention and crossing was made for every train. Now they are restricted to select trains like Kerala Express, Kerala Railway Users Association president K.J. Paul Manvattom said. Mr Manvattom said that it is true that railway information was available through the mobile. However, the problem is that many commuters do not have the know-how to operate it.

Annoucements at stations give passengers in trains an idea if they can alight to get snacks, water or any other thing they need. This also gives relief to passengers stranded in trains that run late. The problem is more profound because more trains are running late for the past many days, said Mr Manvattom. At present, approximately 70 per cent of trains in the division arrive late. This was causing unrest among commuters. Of the trains running late, 35 per cent are getting delayed by 15 minutes or more. The reason for this was the delay in replacement of 110 km of track, which was overaged.