Extend Tiruchendur-Palakkad train to Mettupalayam: Rly users

Coimbatore: The call to extend Tiruchendur-Palakkad unreserved train up to Mettupalayam has intensified after the Southern Railway in a recent RTI reply said there was no such plan as of now.
This has been a long pending demand of MLAs, MPs and railway enthusiasts to extend the train to Mettupalayam via Pollachi, Kinathukadavu and Coimbatore Junction. Many of them had made several representations to the Union railway ministry as well, but to no avail.
Speaking to TOI, K Jayaraj, a Divisional Railway Users' Consultative Committee member, said, “The train travels 400km in Tamil Nadu and 30km in Kerala. If it were to be rerouted to Coimbatore, the train will cover the entire southern districts of Tamil Nadu daily.”
Dr KS Ramakrishnan, director, Kongu Railway Development Council, said the RTI reply had brought to light the poor patronage for the train in Kerala. Interpreting the RTI reply, he said the Southern Railway was incurring a huge operational and ticketing loss every year, as only 29 passengers on an average were travelling on the train daily from Kerala.
“The train has nearly six stoppages in Kerala. But it gets passengers only after entering Pollachi. The train runs full upon reaching Dindigul. Despite several representations to extend the train to Mettupalayam, some senior railway officials are using their power to prevent that from happening,” he said.
K Mohan Kumar, secretary, Welfare Association of Rail Passengers, Pollachi, said the train would run packed if it were to be extended to Mettupalayam via Kinathukadavu.