No train has stopped at the Vellayil railway station in the last two years. Thanks to neglect by authorities and poor passenger patronage, the station premises are now covered with wild shrubs.
The old station master’s quarters and the ticket counter have turned haunts for miscreants too, prompting local residents and the Railway Station Protection Committee to knock on the doors of politicians to get back the ‘halt station’ status for Vellayil.
What irks them more is that Vellayil was not considered when the Railways reinstated a few stations as halt stations on the Kozhikode-Kannur route recently, with passenger trains resuming normal services post-pandemic. “There is no explanation as to why a few stations have been reinstated as halt stations, while Vellayil, the highest grossing station in Kozhikode district, has been ignored. It is unclear as to what criterion the Railways had gone by if not passenger patronage and revenue,” said Sudheer Sekhar, joint secretary of the committee.
The stations at Nadapuram Road, Mukkali, and Dharmadam have been reinstated as halt stations, while Vellayil, Chemancheri, Vellarakkal, and Iringal have been excluded.
Though quite close to the Kozhikode railway station, Vellayil had been a favoured boarding point for passengers from the city, as it was less crowded and closer to many landmarks in the city. The station was largely used for better access to the District Industries Centre, telephone exchange, Vaidyuthi Bhavan, Kerala Soaps, MatsyaFed, Malabar Christian College, Providence HSS, MES college, and the All India Radio.
Before the pandemic hit, eight trains, four towards north and four towards South, used to stop at Vellayil. Among them, the Kannur-Coimbatore passenger was the most sought-after. “I had procured a reply from the Railways a few years ago that the Vellayil station was the highest grosser in the district, earning a revenue of over ₹1.5 lakh a month,” Mr. Sekhar said.
Local residents associations, Sanmargadarshini Library, and the Station Protection Committee have requested the authorities to consider Vellayil and the other halt stations in the district for reinstatement as halt station. “We have been able to keep the station clean these two years, but not for long, when trains no longer stop here,” he added.
