CHENNAI: Fulfilling the long-standing demands of rail passengers in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Southern Railway has announced stoppages for over 103 express and passenger trains at 109 stations.
The revised halts will come into effect from January 26 for more than 50 trains, and from January 27, 28, and February 2 for the remaining services. Of the 109 new stoppages, 20 are in Kerala, while the rest are in Tamil Nadu, revealed the order issued by Southern railway dated January 21.
This includes halts for 35 trains that were earlier reported by TNIE. The new stoppages have been introduced at stations in the delta and southern districts, as well as in other parts of the region. Several municipalities and town panchayats will benefit from these additional stoppages.
Passengers bound for Renigunta from North Chennai, who earlier had to travel to Chennai Egmore to board the Kacheguda Express, can now board the train at Perambur. The Chengalpattu-Kacheguda and Puducherry-Kacheguda Express trains have also been provided with two-minute stoppages at Perambur.
In addition to several trains, the Tambaram-Sengottai Superfast Express will stop at Chengalpattu, Sivaganga, and Peravurani in both directions. Similarly, the Tambaram-Nagercoil Antyodaya Express will halt at Manapparai, Tirumangalam, and Nanguneri in both directions.
Regular travellers said the new halt for the Coimbatore-Chennai Kovai Express would benefit passengers significantly. “So far, passengers travelling from Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Salem to Tiruvallur had to alight at Arakkonam around 9.30pm and take a local train. If they missed the last service, they faced severe inconvenience,” said K Sivarajan, a resident of Tiruvallur.
In Chennai and its suburbs, trains will stop at Perambur, Ambattur, Basin Bridge, Wimco Nagar and Chengalpattu. In the delta region, additional halts have been provided at Adhiramapattinam, Muthupet, Tiruchy, Peravurani, Manaparai, Chidambaram and Vaitheeswaran Koil.