Kovai-Bengaluru double decker may become reality soon if trial run is a success

The speed trial of Double Decker Uday Express was conducted on Tuesday with all the rakes – eight passenger coaches and two luggage-cum-brake vans–between Coimbatore and Somanayakkanpatti. Each rake of the fully air-conditioned train has a seating capacity of 120 people. 

The train started around 12.20 pm from Coimbatore junction to Somanakkanpatti station, which is next to Jolarpet on the Jolarpet-Bengaluru section. The train stopped a few minutes at Coimbatore North, Tiruppur, Erode, Sankagiri, Salem, Tiruppathur and Somanaikkanpatti.

It is expected to return to Coimbatore on Wednesday morning. In the first trial run in August this year, it had just two coaches, while now it was operated to full capacity. Certain aspects like the track withstanding capacity, bridge interventions, overhead cables and platform adaptability were studied as part of the test run. 

Surveillance cameras were fixed along the sides of the train to record the space between platform and the train. “The recorded footage will be analysed deeply to avoid any human errors,” said an official. 

With a trial speed of around 110 kilometres, any glitch will be analysed and rectified. However, the official refused to give an exact time frame as to when the new train service would commence. 

It has been a long pending demand from industrialists and youngsters for a direct train to Bengaluru from Coimbatore. “Omni buses charge up to Rs 1,000 for a one-way journey during festival time. As our journey gets costlier, we are left with no other way than cut short our number of trips to our hometown. Trains would give us a comfortable journey at a cheaper rate. So, the railways should speed up the process and run the train at the earliest,” said S Manickam, a software professional.