TENKASI: Keezhapavoor union councillor and MDMK’s Tenkasi district secretary Rama Udayasuriyan sought additional train stoppages and platforms at Mettur railway station, on the Tirunelveli-Kollam, in a petition to the Madurai divisional railway manager on Thursday.
Udayasuriyan said the Mettur station, a key railway hub since the inception of the Kerala-Tamil Nadu railway link, catered efficiently to around 50 villages in the region. "The station was a lifeline for students commuting to colleges in Tirunelveli, Cheranmahadevi, and Ambasamudram, government employees, and residents. It also facilitated significant commercial transport to Kerala. However, after the implementation of the broad-gauge project, the station was downgraded and its two platforms were merged into one. Currently, only a few passenger trains halt at the station, while express trains pass through, forcing residents to rely on distant stations or road transport to reach cities such as Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, and Kerala," he said.
Udayasuriyan also sought the introduction of a new express train — Thamirabarani Superfast Express — to Chennai via the Ambasamudram-Kadayam-Mettur-Pavoorchatram-Tenkasi route.