With a coalition government of the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party taking charge at the Centre, rail users in Tiruchi Division have placed their railway-related wish list to the new ruling dispensation to implement them speedily in the interest of the travelling public.
Their slew of demands are varied including according sanction for track doubling, revival of railway line that has been closed, expediting the ongoing new lines project, early completion of electrification projects, introduction of new trains to cater to the heavy demand and improvement in the passenger amenities front.
Although many of these demands have been put forth by rail passenger associations consistently on various occasions they were being reiterated yet again at a time when the new government at the Centre has taken charge, say rail users. Track doubling of the Villupuram - Thanjavur mainline section - a major stretch in the “passenger oriented” Tiruchi Division - is one among their key demands..
With the Final Location Survey for track doubling of the 190-km Villupuram - Thanjavur electrified broad gauge section having been completed already, the new government should now go on a fast track mode and accord sanction at the earliest for the doubling project as the existing single line section has almost become saturated amid rising passenger traffic, said A. Giri, a member of the Tiruchi Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee.
“The track doubling project between Villupuram and Thanjavur is our first and foremost demand which has been a long pending one”, said S. Mahalingam, president, Rail Passengers Association. Speedy approval and sanction of substantial funds to enable expeditious completion of the doubling project will pave the way for the introduction of more trains as the section connects key religious towns such as Chidambaram, Vaitheeswaran Koil, Papanasam and Kumbakonam, Mr. Giri said.
Revival of the 30-km Mayiladuthurai - Tharangambadi rail link via Thirukadaiyur with extension up to Thirunallar which would provide a circular link to the delta region is another long pending demand which the new government should seriously consider now, say rail users.
They want the new government to expedite the Nagapattinam - Thiruthuraipoondi new BG line project, early completion of the ongoing Karaikal - Peralam new broad gauge line, speedy completion of electrification of Tiruvarur - Karaikudi via Thiruthuraipondi and Thiruthuraipoondi - Agasthiyampalli BG lines.
Introduction of new trains
The Nagore Nagapattinam Rail Users Association wants the new government to introduce an express train from either Karaikal or Velankanni via Nagapattinam to either Tirunelveli or Kanyakumari to connect the key southern destinations and another train to Coimbatore to connect the western destinations.
The association president S. Mohan said the railway administration should include Velankanni, Nagapattinam and Nagore stations in the second list under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme to substantially improve passenger amenities at these stations. The association has also urged the new government to accord early approval for the Thanjavur - Karaikal doubling project.
Introduction of an exclusive express train from Tiruchi to Bengaluru, Vande Bharat express train from Thanjavur to Chennai, daily night train from Chennai to Karaikudi via Pattukottai and a new train from Mayiladuthurai to Guruvayur via Pollachi and Palakkad are the other demands.
