In the face of severe criticism from various passenger organisations for keeping the Palakkad-Pollachi rail route underutilised despite a ₹400-crore gauge conversion two years ago, the Southern Railway has decided to extend the Thiruvananthapuram-Palakkad Amrita Express to Madurai by this route.
The train will connect the pilgrim centres of Palani and Dindigul with Kerala. In addition, the recently started Egmore-Pollachi Express will be extended to Palakkad, bringing huge relief to those shuttling between the region and Chennai. Besides, efforts are on to extend the Tiruchendur-Palakkad Town passenger to Palakkad Junction.
Weekly express
A weekly express connecting Coimbatore with Jabalpur will be operated along the route.
“The decision to extend Amrita Express to Madurai is indeed a welcome relief. The train that reaches Palakkad at 8.15 a.m. leaves for Thiruvananthapuram only at 9.45 p.m. It remains idle for almost 13 hours,” said Khader Moideen of Palakkad-Pollachi Passengers’ Association.
According to passenger association leader Erattu Murugan, the extension of the Tiruchendur-Palakkad Town passenger to Palakkad Junction will be of immense help to passengers travelling to Kozhikode, Kannur, and Mangalore, as they can board the West Coast Express from Palakkad Junction. Also, the Egmore-Pollachi train remains idle for close to seven hours at Pollachi.
Extension to Palakkad
Meanwhile, passengers have demanded that the Madurai-Palani passenger, which remains idle for almost five hours a day at Palani, be extended to Palakkad. There is also a demand for re-routing the Dadar-Tirunelveli through the route.
At present, the service is operated via Erode, Karur, Dindigul, and Madurai. Passengers have also sought extension of the Nilambur Road-Palakkad Junction passenger to Pollachi.
For the record, the Southern Railway had said that long-distance trains would be operated through the 54-km stretch to help pilgrims and tourists bound for Palani, Madurai, Rameswaram, Velankanni, Ervadi, and Tiruchendur. However, no major service was introduced.
The 54-km Palakkad Town-Pollachi gauge conversion was part of the Dindigul-Palani-Pollachi-Palakkad / Podanur gauge conversion project aimed at ensuring better connectivity. The line has eight stations, eight major and 170 minor bridges, and is one of the many gauge conversion projects executed in accordance with the policy of uni-gauge to provide seamless connectivity.
The Palakkad-Pollachi section is in the Palakkad Division of the Southern Railway, and the alignment traverses the districts of Palakkad and Coimbatore. The Palakkad-Pollachi section forms part of a shorter alternative route from north and central Kerala to central and south Tamil Nadu.
