Malappuram: Commuters have raised protests over many trains skipping Tirur railway station. Approximately 30 trains, including 10 en route to New Delhi, bypass the station altogether. Though grievances have been raised at various levels, the authorities are yet to take a favourable decision. With an estimated footfall of 30 lakhs annually, Tirur station has long been a vital hub for both passengers and freight. The railway station is one of the top ten railway stations under the Palakkad division and is ranked among the best 20 stations in Kerala. Despite this, it has been systematically sidelined from the operational schedules of trains. Rajadhani, Duranto, Vande Bharat en route through Kottayam, Amritsar Express and Indore Express are a few of the trains which do not stop at Tirur.
"I have requested the railway minister to allocate a stop to the Rajdhani Express at Tirur. The train has a large number of passengers from Malappuram district who are now depending on Shoranur, Kozhikode and even Thrissur railway station to board and deboard from the train. This leads to wastage of time and also causes additional expense,'' V Abdurahiman, the minister in charge of Railway in Kerala said. 90 trains either arrive at or depart from Tirur railway station weekly. Financially, Tirur station generates an impressive revenue of Rs 30 crore annually, underscoring its economic significance to the region. However, this revenue does not translate into allocating more trains or stops at the station.
"The neglect of Tirur station is deeply concerning. It not only impacts local commuters but also undermines the station's historical legacy. The Tirur railway station is facing huge negligence from the authorities and we demand favourable decisions from the railway to improve the connectivity from the station,'' Shareef Kuttoor, Youth League Malappuram district president said. Meanwhile, the station is witnessing facility improvement under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.