Sentiment tore through the massive crowd on Tuesday night, when the Pandiyan Express chugged out of its berthing platform No 1, its coaches festooned with balloons. This was its epoch making golden jubilee run.
Madurai’s flagship train was flagged off on October 1, 1969 as a dedicated overnight express train from Madurai to Chennai.
The recent October night saw a warm send off given to the train, its crew and passengers by a gathering that comprised retired and serving railway employees, including the Divisional Railway Manager, V R Lenin Kumar and writer Su Venkatesan, who is also the Madurai MP. Members of Rail Fans Association and Season Ticket Travellers Association from all over Tamil Nadu were there as well, joining waiting passengers of several other trains, and local residents.
In the crowd was 11-year-old R Abhinaya, on vacation from Bengaluru. She came with her grandfather G V Subramaniam, a retired Indian Bank employee. “The first preferred choice of travel of people from Madurai is the Pandiyan Express. A lot of us have an emotional attachment with the train. I wanted my granddaughter to be part of the special occasion,” he said. “I have travelled by Pandiyan many times. Today, I am enjoying the birthday party and will always remember it,” smiled the little girl, thrilled to get a piece of the cake designed like a train.
Holding their father’s hand, sisters J Azeeza (10), and J Hafeefa (7), jumped with joy as the train started rolling. They were especially thrilled with the decorated coaches, bright with flowers and balloons.Jameel Mohammed, a businessman said he brought his daughters to the station so they could experience the celebratory atmosphere and understand the importance of trains in our lives. “Pandiyan Express is not just a train. It is a lifeline for people like me who are constantly on the go for business. It reduces my travel time and tension. I have an emotional connect with it,” he said.
Local residents gathered on the platform, cheerfully clapping and waving at passengers headed to Chennai. “We share a sense of belonging with things that make the city proud,” said V Christopher Ramesh, Assistant Professor of English at Government Arts College, Melur. He was there with his wife, son, brother and sister. “It is our way of paying obeisance to the train,” he said.
“Pandiyan always reaches its destination on time. My comfort level with travelling in it is so high that if I don’t get a confirmed ticket, I change my date of travel,” said S Rajagopal, a retired Government school teacher.
“Though Pandiyan Express is often referred to as the VIP train, it is the love and affection of the people of Madurai that has contributed to its successful run,” said N Krishnamurthy, Chief Ticketing Inspector.
When the train was first commissioned, staff went around the city in a Jeep announcing the train’s journey from Madurai to Chennai. “Even on its maiden trip, the train received good patronage. Till today, it remains sought-after train and is always full,” he said.
The night’s loco pilot V Selvaraj could barely contain his excitement. His grandfather R Sankara Subbu operated the steam engine of Pandiyan till his retirement in 1974 and his father S Venkataraman operated both the steam and diesel. Twenty six years ago, Selvaraj started his career in the diesel locomotive and he was assigned to pilot the train as it began its 51st year up to Trichy. “I am delighted to do this journey today,” he said, after participating in a small puja in the engine cabin. Along with his loco assistant, Alagu Murugesan, he posed for several photos.
Septuagenarian Paul David Devaraj, who joined the railways in 1962, and was the second Fireman of the steam engines that hauled the rakes of the train for 500 kilometres was also present, and overcome with emotion.
He recalled the day actor-politician M G Ramachandran was on board in 1984 and the train stopped at every station for surging crowds. That was perhaps the only time it reached Chennai in the noon instead of early morning, he said.
R Radhakrishnan, who was the first guard of Broad Guage Pandiyan, came armed with certificates and photos from the past. “Today, it is a different kind of elation,” he said. The Train Captain Ashok Kumar said he looks forward to the umpteen messages he receives from passengers everyday. He added they send requests during travel as well as thank you messages after the journey. “I remain awake the whole night. This run is special as I am expecting many more messages,” he said before stepping into his allotted B1 coach.
The official function also recalled the contribution of Pandiyan Hotel, which also completed 50 years this year and joined in the celebrations of the golden jubilee of the Superfast train. The State’s second star hotel after erstwhile Connemara in Chennai, the 57-room Pandiyan Hotel was established on December 31, 1968, following a request from the then Chief Minister K Kamaraj to boost tourism in the region.
The Hindu tied up in the celebrations by organising a selfie booth outside platform 1. The booth had a copy of the first page of the newspaper’s edition on October 1, 1969. A photo of the day’s page was framed and gifted as a memorabilia to the MD of Hotel Pandiyan, P C Santhanam.
