Condemning the Southern Railway for reducing the number of sleeper coaches in the Kanniyakumari Super Fast Express Train from 12 to 7, Kanniyakumari MLA N. Thalavai Sundaram has urged the Southern Railway to retain 12 sleeper coaches in this train instead of increasing the air-conditioned coaches.
In a memorandum sent to the General Manager of Southern Railway, Mr. Thalavai Sundaram said thousands of people are using Kanniyakumari Superfast Express Train to reach Chennai since journey by train is affordable, comfortable and safe for the passengers, especially for senior citizens.
Since the coaches of Kanniyakumari Superfast Express Train are being used to operate a train to Bengaluru on rate sharing basis, cleanliness of the coaches has been ignored completely. The unhygienic coaches, particularly the toilets, have become an unbearable headache for the passengers.
Moreover, the number of sleeper coaches in Kanniyakumari Superfast Express Train has been reduced from 12 to 7 while the number of air-conditioned coaches has been increased.
“This mindless decision taken by the Southern Railways has ignored completely the welfare of the poor passengers, who cannot afford to pay hefty fare for travelling in the air-conditioned coaches. Hence, the number of sleeper coaches should be increased to 12 again. Moreover, the coaches of Kanniyakuamri Superfast Express Train should not be used for operating a train to Bengaluru as this practice had seriously affected the cleanliness of coaches,” Mr. Thalavai Sundaram said.
