Even while commuters of the central region are yet to come to terms with the decision of the Southern Railway to cancel the temporary halts for three express trains at Budalur and Papanasam stations, both in Thanjavur district, the proposal to withdraw the temporary halts at a few more stations from July 1 is like rubbing salt into wounds.
Although a formal announcement is yet to come, reservation for these stations in some trains has been stopped from July 1.
Express trains have been halting at these stations for many years.
This was a big help to not only local commuters but also to devotees and tourists. The withdrawal of the halts will cause hardship to all sections of society, say commuters in the region.
The railways announced the cancellation of temporary halts for the Mannai Express at Papanasam and the Ernakulam and Semmozhi Expresses at Budalur.
This came as a shock to commuters and members of various organisations.
The move is said to be based on a decision taken by the Railway Board to cancel temporary halts at railway stations which were not generating sufficient revenue. A study of the railway stations with temporary halts since 2009 were based on bookings from and to the particular station and the traffic of passengers travelling with open tickets.
Although the railways has announced withdrawal of temporary halts only from two stations, about 20 stations where revenue has dwindled, may lose the facility in Tiruchi division.
Some of the prominent railway stations in this category are Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Needamangalam, Sirkazhi, Vaitheeswarankoil, Ariyalur, and Golden Rock.
The railways has decided to withdraw temporary halts at Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Sirkazhi stations (Rameswaram – Tirupathi weekly thrice); Needamangalam (Karaikal – Ernakulam express); Vaitheeswarankoil (Cholan Express and Uzhavan Express); Sirkazhi (Rameswaram – Varanasi weekly); Aduthurai and Kuthalam (Mayiladuthurai – Mysore Express); Papanasam (Chennai – Tiruchendur Express; Cholan Express and Mysore Express).
T. Saravanan, secretary, Rail Passengers’ Association, Papasanam, took exception to the withdrawal of the temporary halt at Papanasam. The temporary halt for Cholan Express at Papanasam was introduced in 2011, for Mysore Express in 2012, and for Tiruchendur Express in 2013.
A large number of devotees and tourists visit the Tirukkarugavur Temple and Vaishnava Divyadesam temples in and around Papanasam town round the year.
The Papanasam station has been generating revenue of Rs. 9 lakh a month, which was enough to justify the halt, he said.
“We have planned agitations mobilising the support of all sections of society to bring pressure on the Railways,” he said.
A. Giri, vice-president of the Thanjavur District Rail Users’ Association, said all these trains were having good patronage at these temporary halts and urged the railways to reconsider the decision.
