Two women passengers fell unconscious on the crowded Thiruvananthapuram - Shoranur Venad Express on Monday morning. Manorama News reported that the incident happened between the Kottayam and Ernakulam stations. As the day on which schools and colleges reopened after the Onam holidays, all trains were extremely cramped, and many were even travelling holding on to the doors, as per reports. According to a passenger named Rajani, who travelled on Venad from Ettumanoor to Ernakulam North, the last six compartments of the train were packed. "Many of the passengers couldn't even board the train. Venad arrives two hours after the Palaruvi Express. Those who managed to get in also had to endure foot stamping and injuries due to the same," says Rajani.
Aravind, another passenger, opines that railways should take steps to ensure enough space for passengers to stand on the train's aisle to travel the least. After all, we are paying for the tickets, aren't we? The bare minimum we can demand is some space to breathe. Even regular travellers are finding it difficult to commute now because of this situation."
Any solutions?
Rajani says crowding in the trains here is not a rare phenomenon and at least a memu train should be allotted to avert similar incidents. "Venda reaches Ernakulam only by 10.15 am now and this makes it tough for regular office goers to reach on time," he says. For the past one year, commuters have been demanding an additional train, said Train Passengers Association President Paul J Manvettom. "At least one daily train should be allotted from Thiruvananthapuram region in the Kollam - Kottayam - Ernakulam route. We have been raising this demand for the past one year, and complained both to the Railway officials and the Prime Minister. We haven't got any official response yet, though those in charge said they will look into it soon."