Member of Parliament K. Shanmuga Sundaram requested the Southern Railways to divert the Amritha Express train towards Coimbatore from Palakkad Junction. The service presently travels between Thiruvananthapuram Central and Madurai Junction via Ernakulam Town, Palakkad Junction, Palani and Dindigul.
In his letter to General Manager of the Southern Railways B. G. Mallya, Mr. Sundaram said Amritha Express currently has around 50% occupancy, and rerouting the train will increase the patronage.
Dindigul Lok Sabha constituency representative P. Velusamy, also wrote to Railway Minster Ashwini Vaishnaw saying if this move was implemented, the load will improve considerably, benefitting textile hubs of Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul and Coimbatore. He said, “Without incurring any extra burden for the railways, I request you to provide this extended service, for which the train racks are readily available in Coimbatore and the under-utilised Coimbatore-Pollachi-PaIani section can be used judicially.”
Echoing the same, several railway associations also sent petitions to the department stating Railways can make an additional revenue of a minimum of ₹90 lakh a month with Coimbatore passengers and “...when this train passes through Ettimadai, the knowledge hub of Amritanandamayi, the true purpose will be achieved.”
Podanur and Kinathukadavu
MP K. Shamuga Sundaram stated in his letter that the department must also add Podanur and Kinathukadavu stations as stoppages for trains Mangalore-Coimbatore Intercity SF Express (22609/22610) and Mettupalayam-Tirunelveli Special Express (06029/06030) respectively.
He said despite the foot-over bridge being sanctioned on November 22, 2019, for 1.38 crores, the station still lacks the facility. “The work, supposed to have been completed on December 31, 2022, has not been started yet,” he said in the letter.
