The Thanjavur District Railway Users Association has expressed its gratitude to Southern Railway for the proposed revival of Hyderabad-Rameswaram weekly service through Thanjavur and Kumbakonam.
The weekly service connecting Ramewaram with Hyderabad was suspended a year ago in view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the association said in a statement issued on Friday.
Since the pandemic situation had eased, TDRUA made an appeal to Southern Railway to revive the weekly service passing through Kumbakonam and Thanjavur. As a fall out, it claimed, Southern Railway has also decided to revive the weekly train service (07685/07686) between Secunderabad and Rameswaram from October 19, which will pass through Guntur, Tirupati, Thiruvannamalai, Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Pudukottai and Karaikudi.
The train (07685) will leave Secunderabad every Tuesday night at 9.25 p.m. and arrive at Mayiladuthurai at 6.45 p.m. on Wednesday, Kumbakonam and Thanjavur at 7.15 p.m. and 8.25 p.m., respectively, on the same day before reaching Rameswaram at 3.10 a.m. on Thursday.
In the return direction (train no:07686), it will leave Rameswaram at 11.55 p.m. on every Thursday and arrive Thanjavur at 6-10 a.m. on Friday, Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai at 6.45a.m. and 8 a.m., respectively, on the same day before reaching Secunderabad at 7-10 a.m. on Saturday.
The proposed revival of this weekly train service has opened up avenues for direct long distance travelling from delta districts to the destinations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana apart from augmenting intra-State rail connectivity, the association said.
