A section of train passengers from north Kerala districts has accused the Southern Railway authorities of neglecting their demands to have more services for the region.

P.P. Ramanathan, general secretary, Malabar Train Passengers’ Welfare Association, said on Saturday (August 15) that neither new trains were being launched nor those cancelled during the pandemic period were being restored. The Kozhikode-Thrissur Passenger that used to start from Kozhikode at 7.40 a.m. and the Thrissur-Kozhikode Passenger in the evening were yet to be resumed. The Palakkad-Kannur Express should be rescheduled to begin its journey at 4 p.m. from Shoranur. It should have halts in all the stations en route, Mr. Ramanathan said.

He added that the authorities were ignoring passengers’ requests to have new trains connecting central Kerala districts with the northern part of the State. The demand to have a MEMU train from Palakkad was not being considered either.

The association also said that the Kannur-Coimbatore Express should have at least 18 bogies, and that its unscheduled halts between Shoranur and Kozhikode should be stopped. A stand-up protest will be held at the Kozhikode railway station on Sunday (August 16), raising these demands. K. Jayanth, MLA, will open the event.

This comes close on the heels of Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan meeting Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi, demanding his intervention to address the severe shortage of special train services and the alleged discrimination towards Keralite passengers travelling home for Onam. The MP had pointed out that 80% of the announced special services were focussed on south Kerala, while very few have been allocated to the Malabar region.

Published - August 15, 2026 09:19 pm IST