The Kanniyakumari-Banaras Kashi Tamil Sangamam Express special train (no. 06367) that arrived here on Monday was flagged off in its onward journey.
Thanjavur Mayor S. Ramanathan and Ward 31 Councillor B. Jai Satheesh were present when the train arrived at the station and flagged off its onward journey to Banaras.
According to official sources, this is the third long-distance train to pass through the main line providing a direct link to Andhra Pradesh for the people in the region.
While the Rameswaram-Banaras Weekly Super Fast Express (train number 22535) run by the North-Eastern Railway passes through Thanjavur every Thursday with a stop at Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Sirkazhi, Chidambaram and Cuddalore Port before reaching Villupuram, in the return direction (22536) it passes through Thanjavur on Tuesdays.
The Rameswaram-Bhubaneswar Weekly Super Fast Express (20895) run by the East Coast Railway passes through Thanjavur every Sunday and in the return direction (20896), it crosses Thanjavur on Saturdays. This train has a stop at Thiruppadiripuliyur instead of Cuddalore Port.
In addition to these two, the people in the region hope to have one more weekly train to important junctions in Andhra Pradesh in the form of Kanniyakumari-Banaras Kashi Tamil Sangamam Express, run by the Southern Railway via Vijayawada and Varanasi, on the main line on Monday. The regular service of Kanniyakumari–Banaras–Kanniyakumari Kashi Weekly Express (16367 and 16368) will commence from Kanniyakumari from December 28 and Banaras from December 24.
MP’s appeal
Meanwhile, Mayiladuthurai MP S. Ramalingam has drawn the Railway Board’s attention towards the non-operation of Ahmedabad-Tiruchi Special Fare Special Train (09419/20) through the main line as assured by the Wester Railway through a press release issued on December 1.
The Western Railway announced that this service would be operated till January 28 next year. Claiming that the Ahmedabad-Tiruchi service enjoyed a commuter patronage of more than 200% when it was operated for a brief period earlier this year, the MP said this service remained highly useful to passengers travelling to Maharashtra and Gujarat from Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha Constituency and demanded the reintroduction of the same.
