Unprecedented Rush and Delays Plague Trains During Navaratri Holidays

During the Navaratri holidays, trains across Kerala faced an extraordinary influx of passengers, leading to overcrowded compartments and prolonged stops at stations, often lasting for hours due to various reasons.

Passengers flooded trains such as Parasuram, Ernad, Malabar, and Mangalore Express, creating a peak in rush on Friday (October 20) and expected to repeat on Tuesday (October 24), the final day of the holidays. The overwhelming number of passengers was compounded by significant delays, causing distress and fatigue among travelers.

To illustrate, the Nizamuddin Express, scheduled to reach Kozhikode railway station at 9:02 PM on Saturday (October 21), arrived the following morning, delayed by a staggering nine hours. Similar delays were experienced by other trains, including Kerala Express and Alappuzha Express, in the preceding days.