Impending
train service while opening the BG converted Pollachi – Palakkad section for
rail traffic
(Madan
Menon Thottasseri)
Direct rail link between
Central Tamil Nadu to West Coast cities – Goa, Mumbai etc via. Palakkad,
Kozhikkode, Mangaloreand through Konkan Railway., Prospects for introduction
of Chennai Egmore – Guruvayur and Palakkad overnight-trains; Prospects for decades’
pending Kollengode – Thrissur line, a direct rail corridor from Pollachi,TN straight
into THRISSUR in Central Kerala; Creation of circular railway sections –
Palakkad – Podanur – Pollachi – Kollengode – Thrissur – Ottappalam – Palakkad
comprising two smaller circular sections; Palakkad – Rameswaram night train drawing parallel to erstwhile train in the MG era;
Palakkad Town – Parali direct link bypassing Palakkad Junction.
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Happy to know that gauge
conversion in the Palakkad – Kollengode – pollachi
section is
almost completed and waits for the formal inspection by the Commissioner of
Railway Safety (CRS) prior to the introduction of trains. This branch line is
the part of the Palakkad – Dindigul BG Conversion project. It is to be noted
that the Pollachi – Palani – Dindigul section is
already opened for traffic and the Pollachi – Podanur section is under work in
progress.
7 long years of wait
It took around seven
long years to convert the MG line to BG! Cessation of MG trains for gauge
conversion was on 10th December,2008. The 6th anniversary of the closure of PGT
– Pollachi MG section was on 10th December, 2014 and the conversion project was
very much behind the schedule. People of the region condemned the slow pace of
project development and they had apprehensions on the commissioning of the rail
section for resumption of train services (in the BG track) as promised by the
Southern Railway. Southern Railway will find it feasible to operate express trains between
Ernakulam, Guruvayur, Mangalore, Palakkad and Pondicherry, Karaikkal as well as
temple towns like Palani, Madurai, Rameswaram, Thiruchchi (Trichy) , Nagore,
and Velankkanni in Tamil Nadu. As
per the scheduled programme, the gauge conversion work in Palani – Pollachi-
Palakkad section had to be finished on or before 31st March, 2013! The project
had very much overrun time and cost and of course patience of passengers!
The conversion work in
the pending stretch of Pollachi Jn. – Kollengode – Palakkad Jn. is very
significant since it is last phase of the Palakkad – Dindigul B.G conversion.
Once the train services get resumed in the Palakkad – pollachi section, there
will be some impediments to road users due to the closure of railway gates in
Olavakkode, Robbinson road and Yakkara road as well as the gate at Oottara in
the Kollengode – Chittur/Palakkad road) near the Kollengode railway station.
Kerala government as well as Local bodies can take initiative to collaborate
with Southern railway for the construction of over-bridges to overcome the
adverse situation of traffic jams. .
Palakkad Town Parli Bypass-Loop Line for
skipping Palakkad Junction
Since the BG line from
Pollachi reaches Palakkad junction through the western side, the engine has to
be shunted to the rear side of the train for hauling towards Shournur/Thrissur.
Thus it is desirable to have a link line towards the Parali railway station
from the ‘Kavilppadu’ area, after the level crossing between Palakkad Town and
Palakkad Junction. To avoid the waste of time in changing the engine, trains
can be made to run through the loop-line and can be brought backwards to the
platform in the Palakkad Junction. Goods trains that need not come to Palakkad
junction can be directed through the loop-line towards Shoranur/Thrissur. As
the entire Dindigul – Palani – Udumalaipet – Polachi – Kollengode – Palakkad
section is not electrified, change-over to electic engine can be done at
Palakkad Town itself, especially for those Goods Trains which bypass Palakkad
Junction.
Palakkad – Pollachi line
that gets connected with trunk routes in Dindigul and Palakkad will add value
in respect of traffic earnings to the Palakkad and Madurai divisions in the
Southern Railway.
The Palakkad – Pollachi
BG conversion’s track laying was in full swing during the past few months as
Southern Railway envisaged to open the same for traffic at least by mid April,
2015. Of course the schedule could not be maintained. Once the inspection by
Commissioner for Rail Safety is over, there is likelihood for introduction of
trains without further delay. The significance of the Palakkad Jn – Palakkad
Town – Pudunagaram- Kollengode – Pollachi – Udumalaipet- Palani – Dindigul BG
line is enormous mainly due to the fact that it creates direct rail link
between Central Tamil Nadu to West Coast cities – Goa, Mumbai etc via.
Palakkad, Kozhikkode, Mangalore etc( through Konkan Railway from Mangalore).
Overnight journey between Chennai and Guruvayur
Once the Dindigul –
Palakkad section becomes operational a new pair of trains offering overnight
journey from Chennai to Guruvayur can be introduced. Of course currently
passengers form Chennai prefer to travel directly to Guruvayur by overnight
trains to Thrissur ( by Ernakulam, Alleppy, Thiruvananthapuram bound trains
via. Erode -Palakkad and even get a connection train from Thrissur to Guruvayur
for the just 22 km away).
Since availability of
accommodation in trains up to Thrissur will be less, it is desirable to
introduce a new train to Guruvayur via. Dindigul – Oddanchatram – Palani –
Udumalaipet -Pollachi – Kollengode and Palakkad which will benefit passengers
in this region as well. This pair of trains can have link trains between
Madurai and Dindigul and thus passengers between Madurai and Guruvayur will get
overnight journey.
The existing Chennai
Guruvayur train ( Train No. 16127/28 and Tuticorin Link Express No.16129/30)
can be split as two trains viz. Chennai – Nagarcoil /Tuticorin Expresses ( the
same Train Nos. and the Tuticorin link train bifurcates at Vanchi maniyachi
junction) and bogies of the Nagrcoil train can run as Nagarcoil – Guruvayur
Express with a fresh Train Number. In the return direction, the Guruvayur –
Nagarcoil Express can continue the journey under a different train number as
Nagarcoil – Chennai Egmore Express (together with the Link Express bogies from
Tuticorin upon amalgamation at the Vanchi maniyachi junction as usual). It is
to be noted that passengers from Virudhanagar – Tirunelveli regions can travel
to Guruvayur by the Nagarcoil train and continue their journey without changing
the compartments while the composition of the Nagarcoil – Guruvayur train is to
be with the same bogies. Reservations to/fro these stations are to be
facilitated accordingly.
A pair of Express Train between Chennai
Egmore and Palakkad.
It is desirable to
introduce a fresh pair of night trains between Chennai Egmore and Palakkad
Junction via. Kollengode – Pollachi – Palani – Dindigul – Trichy – Vridhachalam
– Villupuram – Chengelpet ( so called the Trichy – Chennai Egmore chord line) .
The existing train between Chennai Central and Palani is so round about through
Salem – Namakkal – Karur- Dindigul. The said night trains were introduced
through the newly laid Salem – Namakkal – Karur section to cater to the railway
needs of passengers in this region. Passengers from Vadakkumcherry,
Chittilamcherry, Ayalur, Adiperanda, Thiruvazhiyad, Nenmara, Elavancherry,
Vattekkad, Payyallur, Pallassena, Alathur, Kunisseri, Koduvayur and , Pothundy
Reservoir-Neliyampathy hill-station region will find a Chennai bound train more
convenient from the nearby Kollengode railway station.
The Distance from
Chennai Egmore to Palakkad Junction is 611 k.m while the distance between
Chennai Central and Palakkad junction is only 538 k.m. Though there is an
increased distance of 73 k.m in respect of the rail route through Kollengode –
Pollachi – Palani – Dindigul – Trichy – Villupuram sections, it will barely
take one hour extra running time but will provide an alternative train service
from Palakkad to Chennai, the biggest city in the southern India. These trains
will be beneficial to the regular travelers from Pollachi – Udumalaipet –
Palani regions as well.
Now the Express trains
(Train No. 22652) to Chennai Central though the round-about route via. Palani –
Dindigul – Karur – Salem leaves Pollachi at 17.45 p.m, which is too early a
departure time for passengers from Pollachi region. Probably the departure cannot be delayed as it will be inconvenient for
passengers from intermediate stations like Karur, Namakkal and Salem. Further a
delayed departure will haul the train into a traffic saturated schedule in the
busy Salem – Chennai section. Let this pair train between Pollachi/Palani and
Chennai Central (extended to Pollachi as a Special train) be continued
bestowing more accommodation for passengers from the Karur – Namakkal – Salem
section. Further, it will clear the rush of pilgrims to the Palani hill temple
despite through the round-about route. Since the said pair train
originate/terminate at Chennai Central, the biggest Rail – Terminal of the
Southern Railway, it will be convenient for passengers who change trains to/fro
other far-off destinations.
A pair of Fast Passenger
night train with Sleeper Class bogies can be immediately introduced (drawing a
parallel to such trains during the MG era) between Palakkad junction and
Rameswaram upon opening the Pollachi – Kollengode – Palakkad stretch after the
gauge conversion. Taking into account the volume of passengers towards Palakkad
and beyond, Southern railway must introduce Fast Passenger Trains in the
Dindigul – Palakkad branch line and offer connections to the trunk route –
superfast trains that pass through Dindigul as well as Palakkad.
Thrissur – Kollengode Railway – Emergence of a rail corridor that opens
from Central Tamil Nadu to Central Kerala.
It would have been fine if the pending Kollengode – Thrissur line (a
new BG line) had been sanctioned and made a reality at this time when the full stretch
of the Dindigul – Palakkad MG section becomes a BG section upon gauge
conversion. Very unfortunate that the Kollengode – Thrissur BG railway line
(originally planned as a MG line !) is still pending! The Kollengode – Thrissur
line must become a reality which will create a direct chord line between
Pollachi and Thrissur and leads to a fresh rail corridor from Tamil Nadu to Thrissur, the Pooram festival
city in Central Kerala while the previous MG network in the neighbouring Tamil
Nadu is becoming extint. This fresh rail corridor from Pollachi to Thrissur
by-passing the busy Palakkad will be useful for the faster movement of
Containers between Thoothukkudi (Tuticorin) and Kochi Ports.
Kollengode – Thrissur railway which was shelved since the first
post-independence survey in 1964 must be undeniably implemented as it will
change the face of the Pollachi – Kollengode – Nenmara – Vadakkumcherry –
Thrissur region in all respects. The Kollengode – Thrissur line will create a
direct chord-line between Thrissur and Pollachi, bypassing the busy Palakkad.
Let us hope that both Kerala and Tamil Nadu (though it is within Kerala ) will
take note of potentials of Kollengode – Thrissur railway and prevail on the
Railway Ministry to make it a reality at the earliest at least through the
ensuing Railway Budget 2016-2017..
It is desirable that M.Ps and Central Ministers from Kerala demand for the Kollengode –
Thrissur railway line with support from counter parts of Tamil Nadu
representing Madurai, Trichy, Dindigul, Palani, Pollachi regions as people of
these regions will also be beneficiaries of the proposed railway line.
Up on consolidating strength with proper support from the respective regions of
both States, they can jointly prevail on the Railway Ministry to sanction the
railway line. It will be better if people of a particular region in Kerala do
not agitate in isolation within Kerala. Instead they may tie up support from
the people’s forums of neighboring Tamil Nadu. Action Councils based at
Nenmara, and Kollengode etc. must form a consortium to jointly formulate
agitations. The consortium can open affiliates/sub-councils at places like
Pollachi, Udumalaipet, Palani, Oddanchatram and Dindigul with the help of
business communities who are engaged in inter-state trade and commerce. They
can also involve the Palani Dhadayudhapani Dewasthanam, which control and
manage the famous Hill Temple that attracts pilgrims from other states, mainly
from Kerala. Guruvayur Dewasam Board can also take an initiative for Kollengode
– Thrissur railway line for the cause of pilgrims’ travel. The Railway Ministry
will have no option than to heed to the common demand that gets consolidated
from different quarters.
No barriers of state should affect the railway line that offers adequate scope
to operating round the clock pilgrim shuttle services between Palani and
Guruvayur to cover a distance of 176 K.m within four and half hours. Further by
operating both Express and Fast Passenger trains through Dindigul- Palani
–Pollachi –Kollengode-Nenmara- Thrissur line connecting trunk-route rail-heads
of Tamil Nadu and Kerala ( Maduarai/Tiruchchi/Dindigul and Thrissur/Ernakulam)
will enhance the potential for traffic earnings and optimum utilisation of
rolling stocks.
I think that there no much of enthusiastic demand for this
railway line from the Thrissur region. This line will entail Thrissur to become
a busy railway junction and thus people’s forums and trade associations in
Thrissur may have to intensify their demand for the same.
On implementation of the Kollengode- Thrissur railway,
pilgrims and tourists will get a circular route – Palakkad – Podanur – Pollachi
– Kollengode – Nenmmara- Thrissur – Shoranur – Ottapalam – Palakkad (255 k.m)
comprising two smaller circular sections.
These circular sections will be advantageous for the tourism
development of Nelliyampathy ( Kerala) and Valparai ( T.N) Hill stations and
many water reservoirs- Pothundy, Mangalam, Peechi,Vazhani, Malampuzha,
Chulliar, Meenkara, Aliar, Sholaiyar, Kadamparai, Nirayar and Parambikkulam.
Ultimately the Pollachi – Kollengode- Thrissur chord line will add value to the
tourism potential of these hill-stations and nearby dams with gardens,
amusement parks, boating lakes, resorts etc. that can be easily accessible by
foreign tourists landing at Kochi, Kozhikkode or Coimbatore airports.
Kollengode – Thrissur rail link should never carry the tag
of a branch-line while the rail connection establishes an inter-state
‘chord-line’ (89 k.m) from Pollachi to Pooram City Thrissur. It will not be
extraneous if Tamil Nadu comes forward initiating for the ‘Chord Line’ between
Pollachi and Thrissur even if Kerala is not keen on advocating for the same!
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