Relevance of proposed Kollengode – Thrissur railway while opening Pollachi – Kollengode – Palakkad BG line

Relevance of proposed Kollengode – Thrissur railway while opening Pollachi – Kollengode – Palakkad BG line

( Madan Menon Thottasseri)

The Pollachi – Palakkad line’s track laying ( MG to BG Conversion ) was in full swing during the past few months as Southern Railway had actually 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).

Happy to know that gauge conversion in the Palakkad - Kollengode - pollachi section is almost completed and waits for the formal CRS inspection prior to the introduction of trains. This 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 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.

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 Central Kerala while the erstwhile MG network are all most converted into BG in this region.

A direct rail corridor from Pollachi to Thrissur by-passing the busy Palakkad will be availed if the decades’ long pending Kollengode – Thrissur railway line becomes a reality and will be useful for the faster movement of Containers between Tuticorin and Cochin Ports.

The B.G.Link from Dindigul to Coimbatore Jn. through Pollachi will help the easy movement of export-cargo, mainly Tea from Nilgiris and Textiles/Garments from Coimbatore – Tiruppur industrial belt to the Tuticorin Port.

Kollengode – Thrissur railway , the long pending line connecting Kollengode (lying in the Pollachi – Palakkad section just converted into BG) and Thrissur, the city of Pooram festivals in central Kerala (lying in the Chennai - Palakkad – Ernakulam trunk route) is a paradigm for railway project which was neglected by the railway ministry during the past 50 years!

A traffic survey for connecting Kollengode and Thrissur (B.G) was done during 1964-65 by the distinguished Padmashree P.N.Baskaran Nair (late) who simultaneously surveyed the Salem- Bangalore and Hassan Mangalore lines. Actually this was the second survey, as the initial survey conducted during the pre-independence period in mid forties already went unnoticed. Though the said line was resurveyed in the year 2004 and 2007, it was resurveyed afresh! This account of a once shelved proposal for a railway line that facilitates Pollachi – Thrissur ‘chord’ line, is eligible to be included in the ‘wish list’ of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu as it has the potential to get refurbished. This railway line through the valley of Neliyampathy Hills can beyond doubt facilitate a fresh green rail-corridor from South Tamil Nadu to Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala and it will be increasingly significant for the tourism development in both states.

Due to its proximity to the Western Ghats, Pollachi has cool climate in all seasons. South India’s biggest cattle market and Asia’s largest jaggery and vegetable market are popular in Pollachi. In fact the central Kerala depends on Pollachi for vegetable and kitchen provisions.

The Dindigul-Palani-Udumalaipettai-Pollachi B.G section creates a shorter rail route from Chennai (Egmore) to Palani, the temple town well known for hill-temple of Lord Subramanya and to Udumalaipettai, the growing industrial town. It will be feasible to introduce direct trains between Chennai Egmore and Palakkad/Thrissur via Villupuram – Vridachalam -Trichy – Dindigul – Palani – Udumalaipet - Pollachi - Kollengode.

Kollengode – Thrissur line will actually create a busy pilgrim rail route viz. Palani - Pollachi – kollengode – Thrissur- Guruvayur link with a potential to operate round the clock train services between Palani and Guruvayur Operation of 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/Guruvayur/Ernakulam respectively) will enhance the potential for traffic earnings and optimum utilisation of rolling stocks.

Further in future, the Thrissur- Nenmara – Kollengode - Pollachi- Podanur B.G.sections (129 k.m), will serve as an alternative route to the busy Thrissur- Palakkad Jn. – Podanur Jn. (125 k.m) double-lined trunk section. Thus Southern Railways can treat this route through the valley of Nelliyampathy hills, lengthier by just 4 k.m as a ‘third line’ between Podanur and Thrissur, while it enables to skip the traffic saturated Palakkad Junction.

It was very appreciative that a team of Southern Railway officials headed by Mr.K. George John, Dy. Chief Operation Manager ( Survey & Construction wing) had conducted inspection of sites in Kollengode – Nenmara – Vadakkumcherry stretch and also had interface with the Action Councils for the proposed Kollengode – Thrissur railway functioning at Nenmara and Kollengode in December,2012. Though people in this region had taken for granted that Southern Railway will put forth the Kollengode – Thrissur Railway Line to be eligible for implementation, it was never incorporated into the Railway Budget for 2013-14 and even subsequent Budgets for 2014- 15 and 2015 -16! 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

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