Railway freezes proposal to extend Kollam-Kottayam MEMU to Ernakulam

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Photo for representation. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Railway Ministry has temporarily frozen the proposal to extend the 66315/66316 Kollam–Kottayam–Kollam MEMU train to Ernakulam. The decision comes in the wake of intense protests from daily commuters and passengers’ associations.

According to Kodikunnil Suresh MP, Railways had earlier approved a proposal to introduce a new train service on the Ernakulam–Kottayam–Kollam route to ease the severe overcrowding and travel hardship faced by passengers on the Venad Express. However, instead of introducing a fresh service as requested, officials moved to extend the existing Kollam–Kottayam MEMU to Ernakulam. The MP alleged that this move to extend the current service instead of sanctioning a new train stemmed from political intervention by the BJP.

The MEMU service is crucial for hundreds of daily commuters across key stations including Kollam, Sasthamkotta, Karunagappally, Kayamkulam, Chengannur, Tiruvalla, Changanassery, and Kottayam. The train’s current schedule provides vital relief, especially for evening commuters travelling from Kottayam towards Kollam and intermediate stops. Passengers had expressed deep concern that extending the route to Ernakulam would disrupt the current schedule and inconvenience regular commuters.

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