Consumer Court orders Railways to pay ₹50k compensation to passengers for train delay

A Consumer Court in Kerala recently ordered Southern Railway to pay a compensation of ₹50,000 to passengers who missed a connecting train due to delays [Ravikrishnan NR & Ors. v. Southern Railway]..The Thiruvananthapuram District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Bench comprising President P V Jayarajan, and members Preetha G Nair and Viju VR also emphasised that public transportation must improve its services. "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 Bench observed in its order dated February 2..The order was passed on a complaint filed by five passengers who had booked tickets for the Maveli Express from Trivandrum Central Railway Station to Mangalore Central Railway Station to visit the Kollur Mookambika Temple. The scheduled arrival time at 8:05 am. They also booked tickets on the Mangalore-Karwar Express to travel to the station closest to the temple which was scheduled to depart from Mangalore Central at 9:00 am the same day. However, the first train halted for nearly an hour before it reached Mangalore Central. By the time the train reached the platform, their connecting train to the temple had departed. Consequently, they were forced to travel by bus for the rest of their journey which prompted them to approach the consumer court against Southern Railway.The Railway argued that the Mangalore Karwar express is not a connecting train. However, the consumer court noted that the tickets issued to the passengers said it was for the trip from Trivandrum to Mookambika Road. It also observed that the Railway did not produce any evidence to explain the train’s delayed arrival at Mangalore Central Station."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 preset case from Trivandrum central railway station to Manglore central railway station and their after further journey. Therefore, 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 consumer court noted. .The consumer court, therefore, deemed it fit to order Southern Railway to pay ₹10,000 each to the five passengers who preferred the complaint as compensation for the mental agony suffered by them. It also ordered Southern Railway to pay ₹2,500 towards the cost of litigation.