First train from Chennai on Punalur line has commuters ready to roll

CHENNAI : The first run of a broad gauge train from Chennai on the newly laid line between Sengottai and Punalur is a big hit. Southern Railway sources say that the Tambaram-Kollam special train (06027) on Friday carried 879 passengers against a capacity of 712, earning Rs 3.15 lakh.
The special train is likely to be fixed as a scheduled weekend special train, say railway sources. The development follows the completion by Southern Railway’s construction wing of gauge conversion on the 45km Sengottai-Punalur section in the Western Ghats in January.

The line provides a shorter route to Trivandrum via Kollam, say railway officials. The other route is from Coimbatore/Pollachi to Palakkad and from Madurai via Kanyakumari. Railway sources say they encountered difficulties as the area is a dense forest and was infested with snakes and other fauna, making it difficult for workers to proceed.


“Currently, only one daily train is being run from Chennai to Sengottai and there is huge rush on the section. We announced the special train only a day before, despite which it was packed,” said a railway source.


The train starts from Tambaram on Friday at 5:30 pm and reaches Kollam at 10:30am the next day, and in the reverse direction, starts at 1pm on Saturday and reaches Tambaram at 5am the next day.