Kannur: The railways will permanently close down two halt stations in north Kerala on Monday (May 26), citing poor revenue. They are Chirakkal, near Kannur, and Vellarakkad, near Koyilandy, in Kozhikode.

Chirakkal, which was once considered a satellite station of Kannur in the future, was facing neglect over the past few years, with only two trains having a stop there. The trains are Kannur – Mangaluru Central passenger and Kannur – Cheruvathur passenger. After the halt station is shut, these trains will no longer stop at Chirakkal. In the past, hundreds of passengers used to travel from Chirakkal, but it was later demoted to the status of a halt station, citing loss for the railways. Currently, there is nobody to even sell tickets at the station.

The stoppage of several passenger trains at Vellarakkad halt station was also abolished after there were no takers for the job of halt agents. Shoranur – Kannur MEMU and Kozhikode – Kannur passenger are the only two trains stopping at Vellarakkad at present.

Incidentally, 13 railway stations under Palakkad division have been closed down in recent years. They are, Kudlu and Shiriya in Kasaragod district, Chala and Cherukunnu in Kannur, Beypore, Thiruvachira, Puthiyangadi and Thiruvangoor in Kozhikode, Perassannur and Vallambram in Malappuram and Vallikode, Kodunda and Palappuram in Palakkad.