Tirur was allotted a stop on behalf of the Malappuram district, but the Indian Railways called back the stop and instead chose another railway station, Shornur in the Palakkad district, which is roughly 56 km away from Tirur, the petitioner said, alleging it was done for political reasons.
He argued that the failure to allot a stop at Tirur Railway Station is an injustice to the people of Malappuram and, therefore, ignoring their requests and demands causes great prejudice, according to the report.
“The stops to be provided for a train is a matter that has to be determined by the Railways. No person has a vested right to demand that a particular train should stop at a particular station,” the Supreme Court said, adding that if every individual or public-spirited person in every district starts clamouring or demanding a stop to be provided at a railway station of their choice, the purpose of setting up high speed trains would itself be lost.
“Railway stops are not to be provided on demands based on personal or vested interests, especially for high speed express trains like Vande Bharat train. If stops are provided on demand by the public, the term express train will itself become a misnomer,” the court added.
The Vande Bharat in this sector runs from Thiruvananthapuram to the other end, Kasaragod and gets back on the same day.
The High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam had earlier dismissed the petition on the view that courts cannot interfere in the matter of providing stops for railway trains, and that it is purely within the discretion and jurisdiction of the railways, the report added.