Thiruvananthapuram: Rail and road traffic are slowly picking up across Kerala days after widespread disruption owing to floods and landslides in the wake of incessant rains in the recent days.
Most train services which were disrupted have been restarted. A special service was run yesterday between Kochuveli and Bangalore yesterday considering the holidays. An AC Express stuck at Kochuveli last week due to rain was used for this. Services are back on track in other regions.
Yeswanthpur-Kannur-Yeswanthpur train (16527-28) is running as usual. A train started from Yeswantpur on Monday night after repairs on the rail between Palakkad and Kozhikode was completed. Service from Kannur started yesterday.
However, services to Kannur from Hassan and Mangaluru (16511-1217-18) might take weeks to restart. This has been suspended until August 23 because of a landslide in Sakaleshpura mountain pass near Hassan. Currently the train has been diverted through Mysuru and Shravanabelagola.
Some trains are running late since some rakes are stuck on the way. The delays could continue for some more days. Today’s Ernakulam-Okha (16338), Chandigarh-Kochuveli (12218) and tomorrow’s Tirunelveli-Gandhidham express services have been cancelled.
Pune-Ernakulam (22150) express will start from Panvel on Wednesday. Mumbai CST– Nagercoil express that started yesterday (16351) and starting today (16339) will reach Nagercoil through Panvel, Roha, Madgaon, Mangalore, Shoranur, Palakkad, Erode, Karur, Madurai, Tirunelveli. Yesterday’s Dhanbad-Alappuzha (13351) was diverted through Sambalpur, Ankul and Vijayanagaram.
Roads mostly clear
Thiruvananthapuram: Road traffic is slowly getting back to normal after a week’s disruption caused by incessant rain and floods. Though some areas still face blockades, vehicular movement is largely smooth.
• Traffic restarted on Kochi-Dhanushkoti route.
• KSRTC's Adimali-Munnar bus services from Ernakulam have restarted. Its services from Neryamangalam to Idukki via Vazhathoppu have also restarted.
• KSRTC’s Ernakulam-Pious Nagar (Marayur) service will terminate at Munnar.
• KSRTC services on Alappuzha-Changanassery route terminate at Mankombu since most of the stretch forward is under water.
• All 4 Western Ghat passes except Nadukani are open for traffic. Maakkoottam Ghat road that leads to Coorg from Kannur is not open for traffic.
• Major roads in Idukki are mostly free of obstructions,
• Curbs on entry of visitor continue on Pathanamthitta-Gavi road.
• Bus services from Bangalore to Kerala are back in full swing. KSRTC and Karnataka RTC will run 25 special services each on August 14.
• Traffic restrictions remain on Pazhanji-Pavittapuram road, Pazhanji-Kadavallur road in Thrissur.
• Expect traffic snarls at Punnayurkkalam area, Mavinchuvadu-Nakkola, AEO-Nakkola, Althara-Pananthara, Vadakkekkadu-Aviyoor and Nayarangadi-Punnayur.
• Obstruction on the Kecheri-Kunnamkulam stretch of the state highway has been cleared. So is Kecheri-Pavaratti road.
• Services at Cochin International Airport remained uninterrupted on Tuesday.
