KASARGOD: The wait for a train connecting Malabar with the pilgrim towns of Rameswaram and Palani -- first announced three years ago -- is set to end as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Mangaluru Central-Rameswaram-Mangaluru Central Express at a function in Madurai on March 1.
Southern Railway sources in Chennai confirmed the schedule of the Mangaluru Central-Rameswaram train along with the Tambaram-Mangaluru Junction Amrit Bharat Express, the latter coming as a surprise for the rail users in Malabar.
The prime minister is slated to flag off four trains: Mangaluru-Rameswaram Weekly Express, Tambaram-Mangaluru Junction Amrit Bharat Expess, Coimbatore-Dhanbad Amrit Bharat Express, and Nagarcoil-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express. He will also dedicate to the nation the stations developed under the Southern Railway as part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, according to sources. The development has thrilled rail users who have been waiting for the train.
The Railway Board had announced train no 16621/16622 Rameswaram-Mangaluru Central-Rameswaram in March 2024. But the launch of the service was stalled due to reasons like the Pamban bridge, which connects the mainland with Rameswararm, being decommissioned and a new bridge coming up. The Rameswaram railway station was also closed for redevelopment.
After the new Pamban bridge was opened on April 6, 2025, rail users took up the demand again. “Rameswaram is an important pilgrimage centre and it has been a struggle for us to reach there all these years,” said Hanumantha Kamath, of the West Coast Rail Yatri Development Committee in Mangaluru. Passengers in Tamil Nadu too stand to benefit from the train that offers much-needed connectivity from Rameswaram to northern Kerala and Mangaluru, where thousands of fishermen from Ramanathapuram district work.