Kerala   

Railways urged to set up operating centre

THIRUVANVANTHAPURAM: The State government has called upon the Railways to take steps to set up an operating centre for trains and wagon repair/overhaul workshop at Nemom.

A ‘wish list’ prepared by the government recently had pointed out that 12.14 hectares of land is available with the Railways, near the Nemom railway station on the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil-Kanyakumari line.

As many as 1,600 railway coaches are attached to the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station. These coaches are to be taken for overhaul, once a year, to Chennai. On an average, 130 coaches are taken for overhaul every month. There is considerable delay in getting back the coaches.

The State government had pointed out that it will be highly economical and convenient if the Railways could set up a workshop at Nemom with a minimum capacity to overhaul 100 coaches a month. Moreover, the operating centre will reduce the congestion at the Central Station here and trains bound for Ernakulam can commence from Nemom.

The government had also pointed out the need for commencing Main Line Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU) connecting major towns in the State to ease the congestion on the roads and for the benefit of short-distance commuters.

The stretches proposed for commencing MEMU include Neyyattinkara-Kollam, Kollam-Kottayam, Kollam-Alappuzha, Alappuzha- Ernakulam, Ernakulam-Thrissur and Thirssur- Palakkad.

It had been pointed out that only Rs.7 crore was provided in the Railway budget 2007-08 for setting up inspection and stabling facilities for MEMU units in Kollam.

On the gauge conversion front, it had been pointed out that the work on the Kollam-Punalur section was in an advanced stage. The government had also laid stress on the need to expedite the work. The work was expected to be over in June. It is now clear that it would take at east six more months.

The Punalur-Shencottai section, which is the leftover portion in the Madurai route, should also be taken up on a priority basis, the ‘wish list’ said. It is an important link from Southern Kerala to Central Tamil Nadu, it said.

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