Angry passengers stage rail roko at Heelalige

More than a year after railway passengers on Hosur section staged a protest against the delay of trains, agitated commuters of Dharmapuri Passenger protested in front of Ernakulam Intercity train at Heelalige station on Tuesday.

Two passengers who travel on the route told DH that the Ernakulam Intercity Superfast Express (12677) was delayed by over 45 minutes and the cascading effect resulted in trains on the Hosur line getting delayed for about an hour.

“Thousands of people travel from Hosur to Carmelaram to reach their offices on the Dharmapuri DEMU. As the Ernakulam Express was delayed, the DEMU train was stopped at Heelalige for nearly an hour. This agitated the passengers, who got down the train and crossed over to the other track to stage a protest,” said Navin, a regular commuter.

Railways officials have previously said that such delays were the result of congestion on the track, especially on the single line connecting the Hosur section. The morning peak hours see arrival and departure of several trains on the mainline between Bengaluru and Chennai, which has contributed to the delay of Ernakulam Express.

Suhas Narayanamurthy, another regular commuter, said trains on the route were delayed almost every day and commuters have written to the railways several times seeking a solution. “The Yashwantpur-Hosur DEMU was also delayed on Tuesday. However, stopping a superfast train is not the answer to the problem. But railways has to find a solution at the earliest,” he said.

Navin said train delays directly affect their work life as they are forced to work overtime to make up for arriving late to office. Railway officials were not available for comment.