Commuters ask, Where are trains?

KOCHI: Hundreds of daily commuters are struggling after the Indian Railways failed to reinstate 95 per cent of the passenger trains in the state even after schools and offices have reopened post-Covid. It is learnt that the operations of 54 passenger trains in the Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram divisions are yet to be reinstated.

The services of passenger trains were suspended following the pandemic outbreak and after the lifting of lockdown, all public transport, except the trains, have resumed normal services. This has left hundreds of rail commuters in the lurch. With fuel prices skyrocketing and road transportation becoming more expensive, protest is brewing among the rail passengers against the apathy of the railway authorities. Passengers who used to depend on season tickets for daily commute to work are the worst hit. They are forced to spend ten times more on everyday travel.