The Ernad Express will halt at Aluva from Monday onwards, fulfilling a longtime public demand for such a stop.
The express train runs between Manga-lore and Nagercoil. While this decision of the Railw-ay Board has been welcomed, stops for six more long-distance trains still remain a distant dream for passengers heading to Nedumbassery airport and the eastern parts of Ernakulam and Idukki, apart from Aluva itself.
However, the railways has said that this stop will be on an experimental basis for six months and it will keep a close watch on how the train is utilized and will seek a report on the earnings.
K.P. Dhanapalan, MP, who pressed the railway ministry with this demand, expressed confidence that Aluva would become a permanent stop for the train as it will be used by a lot of people in and around Aluva and also from distant places in the south and the north.
“This is an important train and currently, people from in and around Aluva, board it from Ernakulam. Representatives of local bodies and merchants uni-ons and others had been pressing me for getting the stop sanctioned”, he said.
Dhanapalan said that his next priority would be to get a stop for Thiruvanan-thapuram-Kozhikode Jan-asathabdi Express at Aluva.
“Long distance trains need to stop at Aluva as they don’t stop at Anga-maly and Chalakkudy. It’s the recognised stop for Idukki and for those heading to Nedumbassery airport,” said Krishna Kumar who works at Aluva municipality.