TIRUCHY: Raising hopes of the introduction of Vande Bharat (VB) services that originate from Tiruchy, the Indian Railways has confirmed to TNIE that the pitline upgradation work under way at the coaching depot in the city is to enable the maintenance of such train’s coaches.
A train would be assigned to a coaching depot of a particular station only if it originates or terminates its journey there, officials also clarified. To an RTI filed by TNIE on the pitline upgradation works, the public information officer (PIO) of the Indian Railways admitted that one of the three pitlines at the Tiruchy coaching depot is getting upgraded for undertaking the maintenance of VB train coaches.
The railway has so far spent Rs 1.10 crore on the work which commenced on December 30, 2023, the officer added. However, to a query on whether the money spent for the upgradation would go waste if a VB service originating from Tiruchy is not allotted, the PIO only replied that the applicant sought information regarding an ongoing infrastructure upgradation.
"The RTI Act does not require the PIO to deduce some conclusion from material and supply the conclusion so deduced to the applicant," the officer added. Currently, three VB services pass through Tiruchy: one between Chennai Egmore and Nagercoil, another between Madurai and Bengaluru, and the other between Chennai and Tirunelveli.
When enquired, a retired divisional railway manager (DRM), however, said, "The coaches of the three current (VB) trains would go for service either at the starting station or at the terminating station. If the trains face any issue during the journey, a team from either the starting station or terminating station would attend to it.
The upgradation work of the pitline in Tiruchy is a clear indication that the Indian Railways has plans for starting more services from Tiruchy." Senior railway officials, too, asserted that a train is assigned to a coaching depot of a station only if originates or terminates its journey there. It is the standard practice followed across the country, they said.
"This is the economically feasible option,” an official said. “In the case of Tiruchy, take the case of the Chennai-Nagercoil VB service; if it is assigned maintenance in Tiruchy, the train has to be brought either from Chennai or Nagercoil upon completion of the trip. Thus, the railway would not allot the maintenance of a passing VB train to Tiruchy,” the official added.