Railway Board’s approval awaited for resumption of Thoothukudi -Mettupalayam tri-weekly special

: The Southern Railway is awaiting Railway Board’s approval for quite a few proposals, including resumption of tri-weekly special between Thoothukudi and Mettupalayam (with primary maintenance of rake at Thoothukudi), and operating a second pair of service between Coimbatore and Pollachi as a connecting service to Palghat-Tiruchendur train.

In the wake of petition submitted by P.R. Natarajan, MP, espousing needs of the travelling public for shortest route connectivity from Coimbatore to Southern destinations, the General Manager of Southern Railway R.N. Singh has responded saying the powers for introduction of new trains were vested with the Railway Board, and that it was not feasible to introduce new trains at present due to terminal constraints at Coimbatore.

The MP’s request for an overnight train service between Coimbatore and Bengaluru, Coimbatore-Madurai Intercity, Coimbatore-Chennai Egmore via Podanur and Pollachi, and a new train service from Coimbatore to Shirdi, also elicited the same response.

The terminal constraint at Mettupalayam was cited to a request for extension of the Coimbatore-Mangalore passenger train upto Mettupalayam. The Southern Railway had stated that the service of Tirunelveli-Mettupalayam-Tirunelveli weekly special got resumed from mid-March, 2023.

In his reply the Southern Railway General Manager had said the Railway Board had been requested to approve the proposal for running a pair of service between Pollachi and Coimbatore, in addition to the existing Coimbatore-Pollachi Unreserved Express Special (No. 06420/ 06419).

To the MP’s request for stoppage of trains at Thudiyalur, Periyanaickenpalayam, Irugur and Vanjipalayam Railway Stations, Mr. Singh replied the average ticket sales at these stations were less than the Railway Board’s norms for provision of stoppage of additional trains. Restoration of stoppages at all stations prior to COVID was not feasible. Stoppages were withdrawn as part of zero-based time-tabling exercise, due to poor patronage,” he said.