CHENNAI: Southern Railway’s proposal to introduce nine new trains, including the extension of a few existing express trains, is pending with the railway board. The trains were proposed after discussions at Indian Railway Time Table Committee (IRTTC) meetings in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, according to official sources.
The proposed trains are Tambaram-Sengottai triweekly express, Ernakulam-Velankannai biweekly express, Mangaluru-Bhavnagar (Gujarat) weekly express, Mangaluru-Rameswaram weekly express and Mayiladuthurai-Karaikudi daily express.
SR had also proposed an extension of Thiruvananthapuram-Madruai Amritha express to Rameswaram; Tirunelveli-Palakkad Palaruvi express to Thoothukudi; Bengaluru-Kannur express to Kozhikode; and amalgamation of Guruvayur-Punalur express with Madurai-Sengottai passenger and Sengottai-Kollam passenger to run as Guruvayur-Madurai intercity express, showed an RTI reply.
A group of rail passengers said the Pollachi-Dindigul section remained underutilised for several years even after the completion of gauge conversion and demanded new trains. G Elangkavi, member of zonal railway users’ consultative committee (ZRUCC), SR, said: “The trains operated during meter gauge period are yet to be introduced on Pollachi-Dindigul section.
Only if the railways tap the potential of unutilised routes can it increase its revenue.” The railway board was reluctant to approve new express trains on certain routes saying that many already ran on such routes. “Such trains, however, are not actual express trains, but passenger trains recently converted into express trains.”