MAYILADUTHURAI: Calls to restore the Mayiladuthurai-Tharangambadi railway line and extend it to Karaikal grew louder at an event held in the Mayiladuthurai Junction on Tuesday to mark the 100 years of the line, Several residents and members of Mayiladuthurai-Tranquebar Railway Restoration Committee said if restored, the line would connect all the Cauvery delta districts and urged the union government to include it in2026-27 budget.
Laid in 1926, trains used were operated in Mayavaram-Tranquebar line till 1987 and stopped due to commercial and operational reasons. A proposal to revive the line was floated in the late 2000s but it was shelved. People who took part in the commemorative event said the line must be revived and extended to Karaikal.
"The revival would create a circular rail network across the Cauvery delta, connecting Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Tharangambadi, Karaikal, Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts. This network would support passenger movement, goods transport, and regional development.
The project would enable a continuous 213 km circular route and also link major pilgrimage centres, including Thirukkadaiyur, Thirunallar, Nagore, Velankanni and the Navagraha temples, and connect delta shrines with national pilgrimage destinations such as Varanasi, Ayodhya and Rameswaram," said the organiser of the Mayiladuthurai-Tranquebar Railway Restoration Committee, Arupathy P. Kalyanam.
However, the government's reply to two questions raised in the Lok Sabha showed its preference for a different route. In a reply dated February 7, 2024, the union ministry stated that the Peralam-Karaikal line was chosen over the Mayiladuthurai-Karaikal line via Tharangambadi for restoration. It noted that although the 47.32 km survey for the Mayiladuthurai-Tharangambadi-Tirunallar-Karaikal route was completed in 2006-07, the Puducherry government requested priority for the Peralam-Karaikal line.
Another reply dated August 9, 2023, confirmed that the 23 km Peralam-Karaikal line, sanctioned at a cost of ?373.42 crore, had been approved. Committee members said the original survey for the Mayiladuthurai-Tharangambadi-Tirunallar-Karaikal route was completed in 2006-07 with an estimated cost of ?114.57 crore, later revised to ?175 crore in 2010.
They said the project has remained pending with the Railway Board since 2011. According to the committee, Southern Railway holds adequate land along the old meter-gauge stretch from Mayiladuthurai to Tharangambadi which could be used now. They added land acquisition would be required only for 11 km from Thirunallar to Karaikal.
According to the committee, three of the four meter-gauge lines in the composite Thanjavur district have been converted into borad gauge and opened. These include the Mannargudi-Needamangalam line (2011), Thiruthuraipoondi-Agasthiyampalli line (2023) and Peralam-Karaikal (2025).