Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Theft on Kerala Express baffles Railways

Thiruvananthapuram: A theft of a different sort on Kerala Express that runs between New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram Central has left the Railway authorities and the police baffled. It is not theft of gold ornaments or hand bags or luggage, but passenger amenities fittings in the coaches.

What is worrying the authorities is that theft of fittings is rampant in spite of the vigil maintained by the police and the railway personnel. A number of window fittings are found stolen from the coaches after every trip of Kerala Express that returns from New Delhi to the State capital.

Railway sources said miscreants removed the frame by breaking or damaging it. In Sleeper Class coaches, the window frame was fabricated with anodized aluminium extruders. The grove of the window shutter should be fitted on the projection given on the bottom frame of the window. Rainwater will seep into the coach in the absence of the frame. The mechanical staff will have to remove all the berths in the bay to refit the missing frame work of the windows. The coaches will have to be detached from the train formation and shifted to the repair line to undertake the works. Often, this led to shortage of staff and resulted in inconvenience to commuters.

Railway sources said this type of replacement work can be undertaken by the railways in Chennai and Trichy only. The mechanical department of the railways in Thiruvananthapuram Central is not equipped to handle the repairs. In order to minimise the inconvenience to commuters and to ensure smooth running of the train, the coaching department of the Central railway station here carries out minimum repairs in the coaches. The Railways have appealed to the passengers to bring to the notice of the authorities any acts by miscreants.

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