Southern Railway’s decision to cancel the Chennai-Madurai Tejas Express as of January 4th has been well received by residents of the city. The express train goes through Tiruchi.
Citing poor patronage, Southern Railway recently announced the cancellation of Tejas Express (six days a week) effective January 4th.
Tiruchi Lok Sabha MP Su describes the action as “wrong”. Thirunavukkarasar alleged that rail transport could not be operated with the intention of making a profit.
In a statement released on Wednesday, he said that rail transport services are operated for the public good. While the number of rail travelers could have decreased in the face of COVID-19, it was only a temporary, not a permanent phenomenon.
Tejas Express operations proved useful for passengers who did not want to travel by air or road. Also, the train reached destinations quickly and was beneficial for passengers from different districts.
Mr Thiruvanukkarasar asked the railway administration to continue operating the train taking into account the common good and not the profit and loss account.
The MP said he had written letters to the Ministry of Railways, the chairman, the Railway Board and the general manager of Southern Railway on the matter.
The Air, Rail and Road Travelers Federation appealed to the Railway Board, New Delhi, to postpone the cancellation.
In a memorandum submitted to the Railway Board in New Delhi, Federation President M. Sekaran attributed poor patronage to the pandemic. Trains were at least 30% busy and had full patronage prior to the pandemic.
Mr. Sekaran noted that the government has asked people to refrain from traveling and only travel for essential purposes.
He appealed to the railway authority to postpone the cancellation of the train to January 20, taking into account the upcoming Pongal festival where public movement would be high.
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