Travellers seek to regularize Tvm-Tambaram special train

T'puram: Rail commuters are requesting the railway authorities to convert the weekly Thiruvananthapuram North to Tambaram AC special train via Punalur and Sengottai into a regular service. This is the second train to Chennai along the route, which is shorter than the route via Palakkad. The special train has been running since April and is popular.
Kollam-Sengottai Railway Passengers Association secretary Dipu Ravi said that there is a strong demand to convert the special train to a regular service. "There were two Chennai services via the Kollam-Punalur-Sengottai line. After the line was converted into a broad gauge, only the Kollam Mail resumed service," he added.
Passengers from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, and Pathanamthitta districts use this service. It is also useful for those from Kochuveli, Kollam, Kottarakkara, and Punalur railway stations to travel to Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Vriddhachalam, Srirangam, Villupuram, and Tambaram, he said.
Pradeep P, a frequent traveller to Chennai, said that the services via Punalur and Sengottai offer another option for people from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam to travel to Chennai. The trains via Palakkad are full, and it is difficult to get tickets.
The trains via Palakkad take close to 17 hours, while Ananthapuri Express via Nagercoil takes around 13 hours to reach Chennai. The trains via Kollam, Punalur and Sengottai take around 16 hours.
The shorter travel time is also an attraction for those who travel from Kollam to Chennai. The different route will also mean more seats for those from Kollam to travel to Chennai, he added.
According to reports, railways are trying to operate more services along the Punalur-Sengottai route to Chennai, Bengaluru, and Secunderabad so that it can serve as an alternative route to the congested Palakkad mainline from Thiruvananthapuram.
The passenger associations already demanded that the railways should increase the platform length of stations on the Punalur-Sengottai ghat section so that express trains can also be allotted stoppages.