Plea to operate passenger trains

Stating that the delay in resumption of passenger trains that pass through junctions in the region is affecting the passengers, the District Congress has urged the Railways to resume the operation of trains at the earliest.

In a letter to the General Manager of Southern Railway, K.N. Basha, vice-president of the Erode District Congress Minority Wing and former member of Zonal Railway User’s Consultative Committee, welcomed the railway’s decision to operate eight trains from different regions of the country to Kevadiya in Gujarat, where the Statue of Unity is located.

He said the passenger trains connecting Coimbatore and Salem and Coimbatore and Tirunelveli that passed through Erode Railway Station were stopped in March 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. These trains served the working people who moved between these cities every day and delay in resuming the train services had caused immense hardship to people. The petition said workers were forced to spend more money on transportation every day when compared to the train fare.

Likewise, non-operating passenger train from Salem to Tirunelveli was affecting devotees in Karur and Madurai as they depended on the train service to reach the temples. “When the Central government is keen on operating eight trains to Gujarat, it is not concerned about the immense hardship faced by the working people every day,” the petition said and wanted the train services to resume at the earliest.