Sabari Express to bypass Shoranur station from New Year

Shoranur: Dealing a big blow to passengers in northern parts of Kerala, the Railway Board has issued an order changing the route of Thiruvananthapuram- Secunderabad Sabari Express avoiding the Shoranur station.

The new order will come into effect from January 1, 2024. Until now, the Sabari Express trains in both directions arrived in Shoranur before resuming their journey. However, when the new route comes into force, the trains will skip the Shoranur station.

Earlier, Sabari Express stopped at Shoranur after Thrissur while heading to Secunderabad. But, from New Year, the authorities have announced a new stop at Wadakkanchery after Thrissur as the train would be avoiding Shoranur. The next stop after Wadakkanchery would be Ottapalam.

Travellers from the Malabar area including Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram depend on this train to travel home. From Thiruvananthapuram side, they get down at Shoranur and board other trains towards north Kerala. Following the new announcement by the railway, this convenient facility would cease.

Passengers, especially long-distance travellers, getting down at Wadakkanchery instead of Shoranur would face many hassles in changing trains or boarding buses to reach the Malabar area, said Sunshine Shoranur, national convenor of Confederation of All-India Rail Users Association and Swajith Kumar, a representative of passengers who have submitted a petition to the railway authorities against the decision.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament from Palakkad V K Sreekandan said that he had brought the issue to the notice of the Railway Minister.