With the Southern Railway introducing Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches in the Intercity Express running between Coimbatore and Chennai, railway activists have demanded that the old coaches be used for additional train services from Coimbatore to the southern districts.
Activist S. Ravi said the 23 Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coaches that were used in Intercity could be used in the additional services.
“Priority must be given to the restoration of Coimbatore – Madurai Intercity Express,” he said.
It was one of the prominent trains operated between the two cities till the broad gauge conversion works began in 2010 between Podanur and Dindigul. He suggested that the Southern Railway could even consider operating two special trains with the coaches.
“We have a rake (line of coaches excluding the locomotive) in hand, why should we part with it?” he asked. The other major demands were the restoration of express trains to Rameswaram via Pollachi and Madurai and an intercity express to Tirunelveli from Coimbatore, Mr. Ravi noted.
Members of the Pollachi Train Passengers Welfare Association also demanded that the coaches must be used to improve rail connectivity. “Whenever the coaches are free, they are used for trains to northern India,” alleged T. Krishna Balaji, executive council member of the Association. He said the Southern Railway must use the coaches for the benefit of passengers of Coimbatore region.
B. Mohanraj, secretary of Pollachi Train Passengers Welfare Association, said the Association recently petitioned Coimbatore MP P.R. Natarajan and Pollachi MP K. Shanmugasundaram regarding the operation of day-time express or passenger trains to Nagercoil, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi using the ICF coaches.
The Association members were planning to meet Assembly Deputy Speaker Pollachi V. Jayaraman in this connection, he said.
When contacted, Mr. Natarajan said the ICF coaches must be used to provide train services either to Madurai or Rameswaram. “I have been told that the Salem Division had already recommended four trains including a train from Coimbatore to Rameswaram via Pollachi and a night train from Coimbatore to Bengaluru,” he said.
The MP said that he would meet U. Subba Rao, Divisional Railway Manager of Salem Division, on January 7 to discuss the recommended train services. There would also be a meeting with John Thomas, General Manager of Southern Railway, in which the need for train services from Coimbatore would be discussed.
No order yet
Officials from Salem Division told The Hindu that no order had come from the Southern Railway to use the ICF coaches for additional services.
The ICF coaches that were 15 years old would be used to replace ‘condemned coaches’ (coaches over 25 years old) in other train services as per the requirements, they said. The ICF coaches would be stationed at the railway yard at Podanur Junction till further notice.
However, the demands for train services to Madurai and Rameswaram were under consideration and a decision would be taken in this regard soon, the officials said.
