: Eight months since the completion of the much-awaited gauge conversion between Palakkad and Pollachi costing Rs.400 crore, the Railways is yet to operate sufficient number of long-distance trains linking Kerala and Konkan regions with southern Tamil Nadu through the 54-km stretch. But for a few passenger trains, the route remains largely underutilised though promises had been made to run long-distance trains linking the pilgrim centres of Pazhani, Madurai, Rameswaram, Velankanni, Ervadi and Thiruchendur with the rest of the country through Palakkad and Pollachi.
Though signalling-related hiccups at the Palakkad Railway Junction were resolved last month, the passenger trains being operated now stop services at Palakkad Town station. The route was reopened after gauge conversion last November.
The 54-km Palakkad Town-Pollachi gauge conversion was part of the Dindigul-Palani-Pollachi-Palakkad / Podanur gauge conversion project aimed at ensuring better connectivity. The line has eight stations, eight major and 170 minor bridges and is one of the many gauge conversion projects that was carried out in accordance with the policy of uni-gauge to provide seamless connectivity over Southern Railway. The Palakkad-Pollachi section is in the Palakkad Division of Southern Railway and the alignment traverses through the districts of Palakkad (Kerala) and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu).
Shorter route
The Palakkad-Pollachi section forms part of a shorter alternative route from northern and central Kerala to central and southern Tamil Nadu.
Of the 54-km stretch, 22 km is in Tamil Nadu. The rest is in Kerala, spread between Meenkara dam and Palakkad Town railway station. The metre-gauge line between Pollachi and Palakkad was closed down in 2008 with an assurance that it would be reopened in 16 months as broad gauge. The work had moved at a snail’s pace, missing many deadlines set earlier.
“It is high time that the region get new trains especially those that link Mumbai, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi with Southern Tamil Nadu through Palakkad and Pollachi. In the absence of any long-distance train, the gauge conversion remains sheer waste of public money,” said P.S. Panicker, social activist.
