KOZHIKODE: The private bus lobby is scuttling the moves by passengers' organisations and trade and business bodies in the state to start new trains from Malabar to Bengaluru, it is alleged.
The lobby in both Kerala and Karnataka plays many tricks to ensure that their customer base from Malabar to Bangalore is not eroded.
Trains were delayed without any reason and the timing of link services were changed to make it impossible for passengers to catch the Bengaluru train from south Kerala, it is alleged.
C.E. Chakkunni, working chairman, Confederation of All-India Rail Users Association (CAIRUA), who had also served as the zonal member of Railway Users Consultative Committee twice, told DC that whenever there was a recommendation for a new train to the state, the private bus lobby would pressure those in key positions against it. "The influence of the lobby is so high that there is a minister in Karnataka who owns about 1,500 buses," he said. "That is the reason why the Kannur-Yaswantpur express train from Malabar ends service at Yaswantpur and one has to travel another 10 km to reach Bangalore," he said.
Passenger forums also alleged that the representatives from the state, including officials in the Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee, were not serious about the issue. They do not participate in the meetings regularly which discuss crucial issues regarding railway services while all members of other states present their problems and needs after thorough discussion. In 2013, the Southern Railway had announced a double-decker train between Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram which was later shifted to the Chennai-Bengaluru route.
