COIMBATORE: In a first, Southern Railway will operate a special unreserved train from Podanur to Chennai. The train will be operated on Sunday (November 3).
According to sources, the train will leave Podanur at 7.45am and reach Chennai Central at 4.50pm. It will stop at Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Bommidi, Morappur, Tirupattur, Jolarpettai, Katpadi, and Arakkonam. The train will have 16 second class chair cars and two coaches of luggage cum brake vans.
Passengers associations welcomed the move, as special trains have so far been operated through Podanur. “The service would benefit people returning to Chennai after Deepavali. We have been requesting such a service every year during Deepavali over the last few years. We hope more trains would be operated from Podanur which is being developed at a cost of Rs 24 crore under the Amrit Bharat mission,” said N Subramanian of Podanur Train Users Association
Railways would also operate a special MEMU train from Coimbatore to Dindigul from October 30 to November 6 (except Sunday). “We want railways to make the service permanent, as devotees would get connectivity to Palani,” said J Sathish, Director of Kongu Global Forum.
The Palani Train Passengers Welfare Association had installed flex boards to promote the service opposite the Palani bus stand.