Recently I was in a tight spot at the Palakkad Town railway station. After spending a couple of days in Palakkad I had planned to reach Erode before noon on 23rd May,2012 Wednesday by the Palakkad Town – Tiruchchi Fast Passenger( Train No.56848). The train leaves at Palakkad town at 6.30 a.m and reaches at Erode at 10.15 a.m. My corporate client’s car will be readily available for my onward journey to Namakal for attending a business meeting. Though I could reach Palakkad Town station at 6.10 in the early morning, I missed the Trichy Passenger train as there was a lengthy queue for getting the ticket. Of course few people left the queue and had boarded into the moving train without tickets!

I had no option other than to travel by the next train- Coimbatore MEMU Passenger leaving at 7.20 a.m. I reached Coimbatore Jn., on time at 8.55 a.m and did get time to have my break-fast from the Refreshment stall. The only connecting train available was the Coimbatore –Erode MEMU Passenger (Train No.66602) at 9.50 a.m. I could reach Erode only by noon at the scheduled arrival time 12.15 p.m, disrupting my whole day’s programme. Is it not a deficiency of service by Southern Railway?

I had a chance to converse with many passengers who missed the train and also with some railway employees at The Palakkad Town station. It seems that the lone ticket counter at palakkad Town station opens only at 6 a.m and it is a routine affair that the majority miss the train while they cannot get the ticket before the train leaves at 6.30 a.m.They complain that the railway administration is reluctant to arrange for opening the counter before 6 a.m or at least to outsource personnel for manning an additional counter especially for the early morning Tiruchchi train. Some employees disclosed that the Tiruchchi train’s departure is being delayed by 10 minutes on Sundays alone when the Coimbatore passenger does not operates, enabling all assembled passengers to travel by the same.

I request the Palakkad railway division and the Southern railway to look into the plight of passengers and take immediate action to avoid their missing of the convenient morning train towards Thiruchchi, via. Palakkad Jn., Podanur, Coimbatre, Tirupur, Erode, Karur from the Palakkad Town station despite reaching the railway station much earlier prior to the scheduled departure time.


Madan Menon Thottasseri.
(Academician / Corporate Consultant and Trainer)
Chennai.
email: tmadan.menon@gmail.com