Palakkad – Pollachi Rail link awaits formal inspection by CRS to commence train service

Palakkad – Pollachi Rail link awaits formal inspection by CRS to commence train service

( Madan Menon Thottasseri)

Happy to know that gauge conversion in the Palakkad - Kollengode - pollachi section is almost completed and waits for the formal inspection prior to the introduction of trains. This branch line is the part of the Palakkad - Dindigul BG Conversion project. It is to be noted that the Pollachi - Palani - Dindigul section is already opened for traffic and the Pollachi - Podanur section is under work in progress.

It took around seven long years to convert the MG line to BG! Cessation of MG trains for gauge conversion was on 10th December,2008. The 6th anniversary of the closure of PGT - Pollachi MG section was on 10th December, 2014 and the conversion project was very much behind the schedule. People of the region condemned the slow pace of project development and they had apprehensions on the commissioning of the rail section for resumption of train services (in the BG track) as promised by the Southern Railway. Southern Railway will find it feasible to operate express trains between  Ernakulam, Guruvayur, Mangalore, Palakkad and Pondicherry, Karaikkal as well as temple towns like Palani, Madurai, Rameswaram, Thiruchchi (Trichy) , Nagore, and Velankkanni in Tamil Nadu. As per the scheduled programme, the gauge conversion work in Palani – Pollachi- Palakkad section had to be finished on or before 31st March, 2013! The project had very much overrun time and cost and of course patience of passengers!

The conversion work in the pending stretch of Pollachi Jn. – Kollengode – Palakkad Jn. is very significant since it is last phase of the Palakkad – Dindigul B.G conversion. Once the train services get resumed in the Palakkad – pollachi section, there will be some impediments to road users due to the closure of railway gates in Olavakkode, Robbinson road and Yakkara road as well as the gate at Oottara in the Kollengode – Chittur/Palakkad road) near the Kollengode railway station. Kerala government as well as Local bodies can take initiative to collaborate with Southern railway for the construction of over-bridges to overcome the adverse situation of traffic jams.   .

Since the BG line from Pollachi reaches Palakkad junction through the western side, the engine has to be shunted to the rear side of the train for hauling towards Shournur/Thrissur . Thus it is desirable to have a loopline towards the Parali railway station from the ‘Kavilppadu’ area, after the level crossing between Palakkad Town and Palakkad Junction. To avoid the waste of time in changing the engine, trains can be made to run through the loop-line and can be brought backwards to the platform in the Palakkad Junction. Goods trains that need not come to Palakkad junction can be directed through the loop-line towards Shoranur/Thrissur. As the entire Dindigul – Palani – Udumalaipet - Polachi – Kollengode - Palakkad section is not electrified, change-over to electic engine can be done at Palakkad Town itself, especially for those Goods Trains which bypass Palakkad Junction.

Palakkad – Pollachi line that gets connected with trunk routes in Dindigul and Palakkad will add value in respect of traffic earnings to the Palakkad and Madurai divisions in the Southern Railway.

The Palakkad – Pollachi BG conversion’s track laying was in full swing during the past few months as  Southern Railway envisaged to open the same for traffic at least by mid April, 2015. Of course the schedule could not be maintained. Once the inspection by Commissioner for Rail Safety is over, there is likelihood for introduction of trains without further delay.  The significance of the Palakkad Jn - Palakkad Town -  Pudunagaram- Kollengode - Pollachi - Udumalaipet- Palani - Dindigul BG line is enormous mainly due to the fact that it creates direct rail link between Central Tamil Nadu to West Coast cities - Goa, Mumbai etc via. Palakkad, Kozhikkode, Mangalore etc( through Konkan Railway from Mangalore).

Once the Dindigul – Palakkad section becomes operational a new pair of trains offering overnight journey from Chennai to Guruvayur can be introduced. Of course currently passengers form Chennai prefer to travel directly to Guruvayur by overnight trains to Thrissur ( by Ernakulam, Alleppy, Thiruvananthapuram bound trains via. Erode -Palakkad and even get a connection train from Thrissur to Guruvayur for the just 22 km away).

Since availability of accommodation in trains up to Thrissur will be less, it is desirable to introduce a new train to Guruvayur via. Dindigul – Oddanchatram - Palani – Udumalaipet -Pollachi – Kollengode and Palakkad which will benefit passengers in this region as well. This pair of trains can have link trains between Madurai and Dindigul and thus passengers between Madurai and Guruvayur will get overnight journey.

The existing Chennai Guruvayur train ( Train No. 16127/28 and Tuticorin Link Express No.16129/30) can be split as two trains viz. Chennai – Nagarcoil /Tuticorin Expresses ( the same Train Nos. and the Tuticorin link train bifurcates at Vanchi maniyachi junction) and bogies of the Nagrcoil train can run as Nagarcoil – Guruvayur Express with a fresh Train Number. In the return direction, the Guruvayur – Nagarcoil Express can continue the journey under a different train number as Nagarcoil – Chennai Egmore Express (together with the Link Express bogies from Tuticorin upon amalgamation at the Vanchi maniyachi junction as usual). It is to be noted that passengers from Virudhanagar – Tirunelveli regions can travel to Guruvayur by the Nagarcoil train and continue their journey without changing the compartments while the composition of the Nagarcoil – Guruvayur train is to be with the same bogies. Reservations to/fro these stations are to be facilitated accordingly.

It is desirable to introduce a fresh pair of night trains between Chennai Egmore and Palakkad Junction via. Kollengode - Pollachi - Palani - Dindigul - Trichy - Vridhachalam - Villupuram - Chengelpet ( so called the Trichy - Chennai Egmore chord line) . The existing train fbetween Chennai Central and Palani is so round about through Salem - Namakkal - Karur- Dindigul. The said night trains were introduced through the newly laid Salem - Namakkal - Karur section to cater to the railway needs of passengers in this region. Passengers from Vadakkumcherry, Chittilamcherry, Ayalur, Adiperanda, Thiruvazhiyad, Nenmara, Elavancherry, Vattekkad, Payyallur, Pallassena, Alathur, Kunisseri, Koduvayur and , Pothundy Reservoir-Neliyampathy hill-station region will find a Chennai bound train more convenient from the nearby Kollengode railway station.

The Distance from Chennai Egmore to Palakkad Junction is 611 k.m while the distance between Chennai Central and Palakkad junction is only 538 k.m. Though there is an increased distance of 73 k.m in respect of the rail route through Kollengode - Pollachi – Palani - Dindigul – Trichy – Villupuram sections, it will barely take one hour extra running time but will provide an alternative train service from Palakkad to Chennai, the biggest city in the southern India. These trains will be beneficial to the regular travelers from Pollachi – Udumalaipet – Palani regions as well.

Now the Express trains (Train No. 22652) to Chennai Central though the round-about route via. Palani – Dindigul - Karur – Salem leaves Pollachi at 17.45 p.m, which is too early a departure time for passengers from Pollachi region. Probably the departure cannot be delayed as it will be inconvenient for passengers from intermediate stations like Karur, Namakkal and Salem. Further a delayed departure will haul the train into a traffic saturated schedule in the busy Salem – Chennai section. Let this pair train between Pollachi/Palani and Chennai Central ( extended to Pollachi as a Special train) be continued bestowing more accommodation for passengers from the Karur - Namakkal – Salem section. Further, it will clear the rush of pilgrims to the Palani hill temple despite through the round-about route. Since the said pair train originate/terminate at Chennai Central, the biggest Rail - Terminal of the Southern Railway, it will be convenient for passengers who change trains to/fro other far-off destinations.

A pair of Fast Passenger night train with Sleeper Class bogies can be immediately introduced (drawing a parallel to such trains during the MG era) between Palakkad junction and Rameswaram upon opening the Pollachi - Kollengode - Palakkad stretch after the gauge conversion.

Taking into account the volume of passengers towards Palakkad and beyond, Southern railway must introduce Fast Passenger Trains in the Dindigul - Palakkad branch line and offer connections to the trunk route - superfast trains that pass through Dindigul as well as Palakkad.

It would have been fine if the pending Kollengode - Thrissur line ( fresh BG line) had been sanctioned and made a reality at this time when the full stretch of the Dindigul – Palakkad MG section becomes a BG section upon gauge conversion. Very unfortunate that the Kollengode - Thrissur BG railway line (originally planned as a MG line !) is still pending! The Kollengode - Thrissur line must become a reality which will create a direct chord line between Pollachi and Thrissur and leads to a fresh new rail corridor from Central Tamil Nadu to Thrissur, the Pooram festival city in Central Kerala while the erstwhile MG network are all most converted into BG in this region. This fresh rail corridor from Pollachi to Thrissur by-passing the busy Palakkad will be useful for the faster movement of Containers between Thoothukkudi (Tuticorin) and Kochi Ports.

Kollengode - Thrissur railway which was shelved since the first post-independence survey in 1964 must be undeniably implemented as it will change the face of the Pollachi - Kollengode - Nenmara - Vadakkumcherry - Thrissur region in all respects. The Kollengode - Thrissur line will create a direct chord-line between Thrissur and Pollachi, bypassing the busy Palakkad. Let us hope that both Kerala and Tamil Nadu (though it is within Kerala ) will take note of potentials of Kollengode – Thrissur railway and prevail on the Railway Ministry to make it a reality at the earliest at least through the ensuing Railway Budget 2016-2017..

It is desirable that M.Ps and Central Ministers from Kerala demand for the Kollengode - Thrissur railway line with support from counter parts of Tamil Nadu representing  Madurai, Trichy, Dindigul, Palani, Pollachi regions as people of these regions will also be beneficiaries of the proposed railway line. Up on consolidating strength with proper support from the respective regions of both States, they can jointly prevail on the Railway Ministry to sanction the railway line. It will be better if people of a particular region in Kerala do not agitate in isolation within Kerala. Instead they may tie up support from the people’s forums of neighboring Tamil Nadu. Action Councils based at Nenmara, and Kollengode etc. must form a consortium to jointly formulate agitations. The consortium can open affiliates/sub-councils at places like Pollachi, Udumalaipet, Palani, Oddanchatram and Dindigul with the help of business communities who are engaged in inter-state trade and commerce. They can also involve the Palani Dhadayudhapani Dewasthanam, which control and manage the famous Hill Temple that attracts pilgrims from other states, mainly from Kerala. Guruvayur Dewasam Board can also take an initiative for Kollengode – Thrissur railway line for the cause of pilgrims’ travel. The Railway Ministry will have no option than to heed to the common demand that gets consolidated from different quarters.

No barriers of state should affect the railway line that offers adequate scope to operating round the clock pilgrim shuttle services between Palani and Guruvayur to cover a distance of 176 K.m within four and half hours. Further by operating both Express and Fast Passenger trains through  Dindigul- Palani –Pollachi –Kollengode-Nenmara- Thrissur line connecting trunk-route rail-heads of Tamil Nadu and Kerala ( Maduarai/Tiruchchi/Dindigul and Thrissur/Ernakulam)  will enhance the potential for traffic earnings and optimum utilisation of rolling stocks.

I think that there no much of enthusiastic demand for this railway line from the Thrissur region. This line will entail Thrissur to become a busy railway junction and thus people’s forums and trade associations in Thrissur may have to intensify their demand for the same.

On implementation of the Kollengode- Thrissur railway, pilgrims and tourists will get a   circular route – Palakkad – Podanur – Pollachi – Kollengode – Nenmmara- Thrissur - Shoranur – Ottapalam - Palakkad (255 k.m) comprising two smaller circular sections.

These circular sections will be advantageous for the tourism development of Nelliyampathy ( Kerala) and Valparai ( T.N) Hill stations and many water reservoirs- Pothundy,  Mangalam, Peechi,Vazhani, Malampuzha, Chulliar, Meenkara, Aliar, Sholaiyar, Kadamparai, Nirayar and Parambikkulam. Ultimately the Pollachi - Kollengode- Thrissur chord line will add value to the tourism potential of these hill-stations and nearby dams with gardens, amusement parks, boating lakes, resorts etc. that can be easily accessible by foreign tourists landing at Kochi, Kozhikkode or Coimbatore airports.

Kollengode – Thrissur rail link should never carry the tag of a branch-line while the rail connection establishes an inter-state ‘chord-line’ (89 k.m) from Pollachi to Pooram City Thrissur. It will not be extraneous if Tamil Nadu comes forward initiating for the ‘Chord Line’ between Pollachi and Thrissur even if Kerala is not keen on advocating for the same!
                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~