The twin cities of Ernakulam / Kochi are Kerala’s economic powerhouse to which tens of thousands of people flock to on a daily basis for commerce and employment. A large chunk of these commuters utilise the three rail links to the city, two from the south (Kottayam and Alappuzha) and one from the north (Thrissur).
Kottayam is a major big town and district headquarters around 70 km due south of Ernakulam. It lies on the double electrified Ernakulam – Kottayam – Kayamkulam – Kollam – Trivandrum trunk railway line and sees massive traffic towards Ernakulam and especially so in the morning. However, there are only four trains in the morning to service this massive demand of commuters:
- 06444 Kollam – Kottayam – Ernakulam MEMU
- 16971 Tuticorin – Palakkad Palaruvi Express
- 16302 Trivandrum – Shoranur Venad Express
There’s also the 20634 Trivandrum – Kasargod Vande Bharat Express but we can safely not consider it as it is obviously not a commuter train. In fact the Palaruvi Express gets held up in between Kottayam and Ernakulam for it to pass on a daily basis.
Now, the problem is that there’s a gap of around an hour between 16791 and 16302. This has been causing massive problems. Overcrowding in both trains has reached disastrous proportions. People endure unbelievable hardship just trying to get to work; the one and half hour journey from Kottayam to Ernakulam has been described as a living hell. There have been repeated reports of commuters, especially ladies, fainting in the train due to the super dense crush load. People buy tickets and reach the platform only to find that there is no way to board the trains.
It is a no-brainer that another train, preferably a MEMU service between Palaruvi and Venad would go a long way in easing the commuting woes between Kottayam and Ernakulam. This cry has gotten louder in recent times especially after Venad Express was recently made to bypass its halt at Ernakulam Jn (South) to avoid a loco reversal (and thereby making the lives of railway employees easier) no matter the hardship to the people. This suffering has been going on for many years now but has gotten worse in recent times.
It is absolutely unacceptable that despite there are no trains for an entire hour before and after the Venad Express both in the morning and evening despite it being the heaviest rush hour on the most overcrowded route in the entire state!
However, railway administration at Trivandrum (divisional HQ) and Chennai (Southern Railway zonal HQ) seemed to be completely oblivious to any of this until now. For instance, the passengers on the massively overcrowded Palaruvi Express are thrown from the frying pan into the fire when the train is halted at Mulanthuruthi for the Vande Bharat to overtake it. If it were caught at Thrippunithura, which is just the next block and also the southern gateway to Ernakulam and the terminus of the Kochi Metro, commuters could board the Metro or buses for their onward journey. Repeated requests for this has been met with utter non-acknowledgement that it was insulting. They even dismissed all the news of passengers fainting as fake news! It required active involvement by the Mavelikara and Kottayam MPs for the railway to even acknowledge that there’s problem and to realise the anger and resentment of the common people towards them.
The New Morning MEMU
Finally, the Southern Railway has relented and tentatively allowed the introduction of a new 8-car MEMU service from Kollam to Ernakulam in the mornings to alleviate the problem of overcrowding in the morning to some extent. The new morning MEMU service between Kollam QLN and Ernakulam ERS via Kottayam KTYM will run according to the following tentative timetable:
06169/6170 Kollam – Ernakulam – Kollam (via Kottayam) MEMU (SR)
The MEMU will run five days a week (except weekends) until November 25, 2025.
- 06169 MEMU will leave Kollam QLN at 0615 to reach Ernakulam Jn ERS at 0930 via Kottayam.
- 06170 MEMU will leave Ernakulam Jn ERS at 0950 to reach Kollam QLN at 1330 via Kottayam.
Stoppages: At all stations between Kollam and Ernakulam via Kottayam.
It should’ve been a 12-car rake that runs on all days, but yeah, something is better than nothing and it is also better late than never.
Extending the new MEMU to run throughout the day
However, as much as this is appreciated, there’s a feeling that this rake should be utilised better. Sending it back immediately would rob us of an opportunity beyond just alleviating the overcrowding during the morning rush hour between Kottayam and Ernakulam. We should be utilising this rake to improve overall connectivity between the cities across all times of the day. We should be running a complementing service in the evening and then another service between Kottayam and Ernakulam as well.
06301 Kollam – Kottayam – Ernakulam MEMU
The morning run could stay in the form of the timetable as it is declared now with the objective of alleviating overcrowding during the morning hours.
- MEMU 06301 departs Kollam at 0540 in the morning, Kayamkulam at 0615, Chengannur at 0645 and arrives Kottayam at 0725 where it gets overtaken by the 20634 KGQ Vande Bharat. It then departs Kottayam at 0745, Thrippunithura at 0905 and passes Ernakulam South Cabin at 0920 to arrive Ernakulam Jn (South) at 0930. It stops at all stations between Kollam and Kottayam.
06303/06304 Ernakulam – Kottayam – Ernakulam MEMU
Instead of sending the rake back to Kollam immediately (and empty) it could be it could be used to first run a MEMU to Kottayam. We all know that just like anywhere in the country, there is quite a dearth of commuter trains during the day time. With no other option, short-distance passengers during the day time cram into the few general coaches on day-time long distance trains (Sabari, Kerala, Jayanti expresses) causing serious overcrowding, with unreserved passengers regularly occupying reserved coaches. This MEMU would be able to reduce this crowd to an extent.
- 06303 MEMU departs Ernakulam at 1100 and arrives Kottayam at 1320. Currently there is no unreserved train from Ernakulam to Kottayam for more than three hours between the “Express” MEMU leaving at 0845 and the Sabari Express at 1200. This one could fill that gap. In fact there used to be a passenger at this timing once, which was removed to create a line block.
- MEMU 06304 departs Kottayam for Ernakulam at 1420 and arrives Ernakulam Jn at 1600. Same as above, there is no train from Kottayam to Ernakulam in between the Pune Jayanti at 1320 and the Kerala Express that leaves at 1500. Both these are long distance trains and they should ideally not be used by passengers from Kottayam to Ernakulam.
Stoppages: Thrippunithura, Mulanthuruthi, Piravom Road, Vaikom Road, Kaduthuruthi, Ettumanur.
06302 Ernakulam – Kottayam – Kollam MEMU
Just like in the morning there’s substantial commuter crowds from Ernakulam towards Kottayam and southwards during the evening too which could be facilitated by the MEMU in the evening. There’s substantial overcrowding on the Venad Express in the evening as well. And then again, after Venad leaves at 1720 there’s no daily commuter train in the evenings from Ernakulam towards Kottayam for an entire hour until 1820 when the 06443 Ernakulam – Kollam MEMU leaves Ernakulam Jn. I’ve often heard techies working in Infopark complain that Venad is too early and the MEMU is too late. In fact, a 1800 MEMU would be the ideal commuter from Thrippunithura.
- MEMU 06304 could depart Ernakulam Jn at 1745 in the evening. It then departs Thrippunithura at 1800, Kottayam at 1935 and Kayamkulam at 2030 to arrive at Kollam at 2120, just in time before the Vande Bharat arrives at 2135. It stops at all stations enroute.
The monsoon timetable of Konkan railway dictates that the 22113/12201/16311 group should depart Ernakulam at 1745, but this will probably be the final year of the monsoon timetable, so that very valuable slot gets freed up which can be put to much better use.
Believe me when I tell you that this one schedule on a 12-car rake can solve nearly 75% of all commuting woes between Kottayam and Ernakulam.
Improving Commuting Between Kottayam and Ernakulam
Ideally we should’ve had cyclically timetabled rapid transit commuter trains between Ernakulam and Kottayam every 10 minutes during rush hour. This is how it is done everywhere in the world. It is just common sense. It is pathetic that we need high-level political interference to get what is essentially a basic human right, to travel in dignity. It is high time we shed the Bombay Jayanti complex and treat trains as just everyday commuting vehicles rather than some big deal that needs gatekeeping.
Commuter trains provide dependable, smooth and predictable connectivity between cities and towns. They are instrumental in making lives of thousands of people a bit easier. Not having to worry about commuting brings untold relief to the lives of common people who get up in the morning and run till evening to make ends meet. It isn’t too much to ask to travel comfortably and in dignity.
As we have seen in this blog multiple times before, what Kerala and India need is a robust intercity, interurban, regional and short-distance commuter train services in a networked manner rather than standalone long-haul weeklies that are introduced to run from nowhere to somewhere just to massage egos or because it is convenient for administrative purposes. Kottayam has six platforms now including one exclusively for MEMUs. Unfortunately four out of these six are empty most of the time. What is the point of building infrastructure if you are not using it, sir? What Southern Railway needs to understand is that its apathy towards Kerala has to end at some point. We have suffered for way too long.
Caboose: Of course, there is a question of where to park the rake of the MEMU in the famously space-constrained premises of Ernakulam Jn railway station. Since where there is a will there’s a way, the answer would be “on the unused line that leads to the Cochin Harbour Terminus”.
