There have been numerous protests throughout north Malabar in response to the Railways’ recent decision to extend short-distance trains landing in Kannur, Kerala, towards Palakkad rather than Kasaragod. Rail users claim that the move ignores long-standing passenger demands.
Passengers have been asking for the Shoranur-Kannur Special ToD Express to be extended north to Kasaragod or Manjeswaram, but it has been rerouted east to Palakkad instead. Starting on July 2 as a “On Demand Special train,” the service will travel to Palakkad every day with the exception of Saturdays, when it would stop at Shoranur.
According to a passenger group, commuters in Kerala’s northernmost regions will suffer as a result of this, particularly as over nine short-distance trains from the south still stop at Kannur, preventing easy nighttime connections to Kasaragod.
According to Nisar Peruvad, coordinator of the Kasaragod Rail Passengers Association, “at the moment, there are no direct daily trains from Kozhikode to Kasaragod after 5.10 p.m., forcing passengers to wait until 1.10 a.m. for the next option.”
Mr. Peruvad claimed that the ruling “ignores the realities of Kasaragod’s travel woes.”
“This abrupt diversion to Palakkad shows a clear disregard for the needs of north Malabar, even though there are numerous calls to extend services northward from Kannur, particularly the Shoranur-Kannur Express,” he continued.
The group criticized the Kasaragod MP for “not intervening” more than the MPs from the other districts, who they claimed were actively working to improve rail connectivity in their areas. They insisted that the MP spearhead a large-scale effort to encourage the Shoranur-Kannur Express to be extended northward.
“From Kannur to Mangaluru via Kasaragod, there is just one passenger rail service. That’s just not enough,” Prashant Kumar stated, adding that the Coimbatore-Kannur Express extension to Mangaluru, which has already been sanctioned in principle, has not yet come to pass.
The group also urged Kasaragod’s MLAs and other public officials to intervene and put pressure on the Railways to give the district’s connectivity needs first priority.
