Southern Railway fined Rs 50,000 after passengers missed their temple trip due to train delay. Court slammed Railways, saying public transport must improve to compete with private services.
Thiruvananthapuram: Today, on June 05, A Consumer Court in Kerala recently directed the Southern Railway to pay a total of Rs 52,500 as compensation to five passengers who missed their connecting train due to a delay in their initial train journey.
The case was heard by the Thiruvananthapuram District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which strongly criticised the Railway for its poor service and lack of explanation for the delay.
The Bench, which included President P V Jayarajan and members Preetha G Nair and Viju V R, passed the order on February 2.
The court observed,
“If public transportation has to survive and compete with private parties, they have to improve the system and their working culture. Citizens/passengers should not be at the mercy of the authorities.”
The case was filed by five passengers who had planned a pilgrimage to the famous Kollur Mookambika Temple.
They had booked tickets on the Maveli Express from Trivandrum Central Railway Station to Mangalore Central Railway Station, scheduled to arrive at 8:05 AM.
From there, they had also reserved tickets on the Mangalore-Karwar Express, which was scheduled to depart at 9:00 AM and would take them to the station closest to the temple.
However, the Maveli Express was delayed and stopped for nearly an hour before it reached Mangalore Central.
By the time it arrived at the platform, the Mangalore-Karwar Express had already departed.
With no other options, the passengers had to travel by bus for the remainder of their journey, which caused them inconvenience and mental stress.
In response to the complaint, Southern Railway argued that the Mangalore-Karwar Express was not an officially recognised connecting train.
But the consumer court dismissed this argument after reviewing the passengers’ tickets, which clearly mentioned that the journey was from Trivandrum to Mookambika Road, indicating a single travel route with both trains being part of it.
The court noted,
“It could not be disputed that every passenger’s time is precious and they might have booked the tickets for further journey, like in the present case from Trivandrum central railway station to Mangalore central railway station and thereafter further journey.” The court further said that “unless and until the evidence is laid explaining the delay, it is established and proved that the delay had occurred which was beyond their control.”
The Southern Railway did not submit any evidence to explain the delay of the train. Therefore, the court held that the delay was not justified and that the passengers had every right to seek compensation for the hardship they faced.
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In light of these observations, the court ordered the Southern Railway to pay Rs 10,000 each to the five passengers as compensation for the mental agony they suffered due to the delay and missed connection. Additionally, the court directed the Railway to pay Rs 2,500 to cover the cost of litigation.
Case Title:
Ravikrishnan NR & Ors. v. Southern Railway
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