TIRUCHY: The six-year wait for train services between Tiruvarur and Karaikkudi will end on Saturday (June 1) as Southern Railway announced resumption of operations on the route. Passengers, however, would be disappointed as it will take more than six hours to cover the distance of 165 km. Travelling by road between Tiruvarur and Karaikkudi will take around three hours.
According to sources, the extended journey time is because the Tiruchy railway division will be using mobile gatekeepers. Under the concept, two gatekeepers will travel on the train. As the train approaches a level crossing, the pilot will stop the train and the gatekeeper in the front will alight to close the gate. Once the train gets past the level crossing, the pilot will stop again and the gatekeeper will alight to open the gate. In June last year, Tiruchy division tried the system on Karaikkudi-Pattukottai route and the train covered 84 km in six hours.
As per the current decision, the Tiruvarur-Karaikkudi Passenger (Train No. 06847) will leave Tiruvarur at 8.15 am and reach Karaikkudi by 2.15 pm. The return train, the Karaikkudi-Tiruvarur Passenger (Train No. 06848), will leave Karaikkudi at 2.30 pm and reach Tiruvarur by 8.30 pm.
The train will be available from June 1 till August 30 on all days except Sunday. On Sundays, the division will run a train between Tiruchy and Tiruvarur till August 30. The Tiruvarur-Tiruchy Passenger (Train No. 06849) will leave Tiruvarur at 4.10 am and reach Tiruchy at 6.50 am. The Tiruchy-Tiruvarur train (Train No. 06850) will leave Tiruchy at 7.45 pm and reach Tiruvarur by 10.45 pm.