The Hindu : Front Page : Coimbatore awaits better rail links

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 15, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Coimbatore awaits better rail links

V.S. Palaniappan

Coimbatore: Inadequate railway connectivity continues to hamper the growth of Coimbatore, a major revenue-earner (Rs. 95 crore a year) in Tamil Nadu for Southern Railway, next only to Chennai, it is pointed out.

The city has, in addition to a number of industries, institutions and hospitals, heavy passenger traffic because of its proximity to the hosiery town of Tirupur. It is a gateway to Kerala from western Tamil Nadu and an access point to the hill station of Udhagamandalam.

There is demand for an additional late-night train to Chennai, at least on a tri-weekly basis. The two night trains and two day trains are running to capacity.

Says S. Vaidyanathakrishnan of the Coimbatore Railway Passengers Association: “With the number of Keralites in the city growing, they heavily rely on trains passing through Coimbatore to reach Kerala destinations, as there is no direct night train to Thiruvananthapuram.

"The proposal to extend the Palakkad-Thiruvananthapuram Amrita Express to Coimbatore is yet to materialise. The other demand for a night train to Bangalore too is yet to be met. In spite of all these demands, an existing day train, the Intercity Express, has been extended to Ernakulam in Kerala.”

“We are not against the introduction of new services to Kerala but nothing should be at the cost of depriving the Coimbatore region of existing facilities,” says C.M. Jayaraman of Citizens Voice Club.

Adding to the woes of the region is the suspension of metre gauge services to Madurai for gauge conversion work. Railway Budget-2007 had announced a late-night Coimbatore-Nagercoil Express. It has not materialised.

This situation has resulted in some omni-bus operators exploiting passengers by charging exorbitant fares to Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Tuticorin.

Express

Till the gauge conversion work is completed, the railways should operate an inter-city day-time express between Coimbatore and Madurai on the broad gauge line to ease pressure on road traffic, he added.

Southern Railway is diverting major express and mail trains, besides special trains, via Podanur from Irugur, skipping Coimbatore. Pathway congestion between Coimbatore North and Irugur railway stations is cited as the reason.

It is unfortunate that Southern Railway is unable to complete line-doubling on a 17-km stretch even after two decades, secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause K. Kathirmathiyon says.

The pending demand for a bi-weekly or tri-weekly train between Coimbatore and Tirupati for pilgrims by utilising otherwise-idling rakes of weekly trains is yet to get approval. If a train between Coimbatore and Goa is introduced it will help tourists seeking to go there from Udhagamandalam and will provide connectivity with Mangalore.

The cancellation of the Coimbatore-Rameswaram Express has affected those from the southern districts. Southern Railway should introduce a night train to Rameswaram on the broad gauge via Karur, Dindigul and Madurai, says K. Ramakrishnan of the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page