Coimbatore: The safety inspection of the newly electrified Coimbatore-Mettupalayam railway line was completed on Thursday. It was conducted by Commissioner of Railway Safety S K Mittal. The MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) trains are expected to be introduced on the line soon.
Electrification of the line cost Rs 26 crore, Salem Divisional Railway Manager Subhranshu told mediapersons here. The DRM, who was in Coimbatore for his monthly inspection on Thursday, visited Mettupalayam also. “I will now send proposals to the Southern Railway headquarters to run MEMU trains on the electrified line,” he said.
Platforms at the stations along the line will be extended to accommodate trains with more coaches. “Now trains plying on the line have a maximum of 13 coaches. Work on extending platforms in Mettupalayam station to accommodate 24 MEMU coaches will begin soon. The Rs 2.5-crore work will be completed in one year,” Subhranshu said.
“A Salem-Vriddhachalam DEMU service has begun. We plan to introduce DEMU trains on Salem-Karur-Trichy and Erode-Karur-Trichy routes,” he added.
KJK Petitions DRM
Kongu Jananayaka Katchi leader G K Nagaraj submitted a petition to the DRM demanding upgrading of the Mettupalayam station as a terminal.
Nagaraj’s other demands were: construction of platforms at Veerapandi, Thudiyalur, Urumaandampalayam stations, extending the Coimbatore-Mettupalayam MEMU services to Tirupur and Pollachi, stoppage for all trains at Peelamedu and Irugur and the upgrading of these stations.