Poor connectivity to southern dists from Kovai a worry

COIMBATORE: Poor train connectivity to Southern districts from Coimbatore, even several years after conversion of the track from metre gauge into broad gauge, remains a cause of concern for passengers.

Despite gauge conversion by spending several crores, the track between Coimbatore and Madurai continues to remain underutilised.

“Currently, its utilisation is only upto 25 per cent. If this is the case, the railways shouldn’t have taken the up-gradation works at all as a good number of trains were running even when it remained a meter gauge track,” said Pollachi Member of Parliament K Shanmugasundaram.

More than six trains, which provided a direct link to southern districts, were all stopped during gauge conversion works in 2008.

“Though the works got over in 2017 in a phased manner, the railways are yet to restore all the old trains, despite repeated requests to authorities. Passengers are deprived of a vital rail link from Coimbatore to Palani, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Rameswaram and Nagercoil due to lack of adequate trains. Our long wait for restoration of train services continues,” J Sathish, joint secretary of Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) and director of Kongu Global Forum.

Currently, the two trains, Coimbatore-Madurai passenger and Mettupalayam-Tirunelveli Express, running through this sector witnesses good patronage on normal days and heavy rush during weekends.

Passengers have been demanding restoration of express services including an overnight train to Rameswaram, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Dindigul and Madurai Intercity Express.

M Jameel Ahamed, chairman of Coimbatore Rail Users Welfare Association and ex-member of Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRECC) said that the Coimbatore-Nagercoil passenger train and the weekly train to Rameswaram take a detour through Tirupur, Erode and Karur districts.

“If these same trains are operated from Coimbatore through Pollachi, Palani, Dindigul and Madurai, the passengers can reach their destinations faster and ticket costs would also come down significantly,” he said.

Pilgrims visiting the temple city of Madurai and to Rameswaram from Coimbatore will find it convenient, if the trains are restored.

“Also, thousands of workers, employed in mills and industrial sectors in Coimbatore and neighbouring districts will benefit if the stopped services are reintroduced,” Jameel added.

When queried, an official of the Salem Division of the Southern Railways said that the demands of passengers are under consideration by the railways. “Several factors have to be taken into account while introducing a train. Infact, both the Coimbatore and Madurai railway stations are already choking due to halts by large number of trains,” the official said.