Requesting Tiruchi-Bangalore special train to run permanently

The Tiruchi district Exnora has appealed to the Southern Railway to consider making the Deepavali special train between Bangalore and Tiruchi a permanent one to cater to the needs of those regularly shuttling between the two cities.

    The appeal came shortly after the Southern Railway announced the Deepavali special train which will operate from October 28 to November 10.

    The train (06571/06572) will run from Bangalore to Trichy and back via Salem, Rasipuram, Namakkal, and Karur.

    Also, Exnora thanked the Southern Railway for running the special train and stated that the move was a boon for the residents of Tiruchi and is the only day train to help travellers cope with the Deepavali crowd.

“The people of Tiruchi have been demanding a day super fast express train between Bangalore and Tiruchi for a long time. On behalf of the citizens of Tiruchi, Exnora requests the railways to run the special train on a permanent measure” said a statement from Exnora.

Coimbatore-Chennai Duronto likely to be withdrawn

The decision of the Southern Railway to stop the reservation for travel by Duronto Express on the Coimbatore — Chennai — Coimbatore section from December 11, 2013, has given enough indication that the service could be withdrawn citing poor patronage.

   Meanwhile, Railway sources told The Hindu that Southern Railway has written to the Railway Board to convert the Duronto into either a day super fast train or run it as Shatabdi Express with four more halts en route in order to increase patronage. Orders from the Railway Board were expected anytime, the sources added.

   The Duronto introduced on January 27, 2011 will, in all probability, make its last journey from Coimbatore and Chennai Central on December 9. It may be recalled that recently the number of seats under tatkal quota was brought down from 160 to 60, making available 100 seats in the air-conditioned chair car under the ordinary quota.

   According to railway sources, only during the festival period and during weekends, Duronto runs packed to capacity. On other days, of the 600 seats in the AC chair car i.e., in the 10 coaches and 40 seats in executive AC chair car, more than 50 per cent of the seats remained vacant. The train covers the 496 km distance in six hours and 45 minutes with a technical halt at Erode (technical halt means no tickets are issued for this train from or to Erode).

   Railway users pointed out that old coaches, unhygienic conditions and the quality of food offered to the passengers went against the continuation of the service. Decommissioned coaches were used for more than two years and 10 months and never replaced to increase patronage, said Sudha Rani, a regular traveller on the sector.

   Another reason cited for the poor patronage was that the service ran neck to neck with Kovai Express and passengers always had the option to travel on the same route at a much lesser fare.

   Rail activist S. Ravi said that a two minute halt for the train at Tirupur, Erode, Salem and Katpadi would increase the patronage if it were to be run as a daytime superfast or as Shatabdi Express.

With the passenger potential having gone up over the last decade on this sector, Mr. Ravi said if the train were to be operated with new coaches, slight change in timing and four more halts, the service could draw more passengers.

Plea for Nagercoil - Bangalore daily Express train

Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli district residents association of Bangalore has demanded the railway authorities to commence operation of a daily express train service between Nagercoil and Bangalore before Deepavali. This train service was earlier announced in the railway budget. Thousands of people from southern districts are working in IT companies in Bangalore and other industries in Dharmapuri, Hosur and adjoining areas. For more than 15 years, people from the southern districts have been asking the railways to operate a daily train service from Nagercoil to Bangalore via Saleem and Hosur. Meanwhile in the railway budget tabled in February 2013, it was announced that a daily train service from Bangalore to Nagercoil will be operated through Hosur, Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Dindigul, Tirunelveli.

   Though other trains which announced in the budget have started operation, the Nagercoil - Bangalore daily express train has not commenced yet. Festivals like Bakrid, Deepavali, Christmas, New Year and Pongal are upcoming and therefore if the authorities commence operation of the train, it will really benefit the southern people.

New Coimbatore-Rameshwaram exp has good response!!!

The response to the maiden run of the Coimbatore to Rameswaram, to be flagged off on September 17, has been overwhelming. The reservation for the train began on September 8 and had already crossed 50 per cent in just two days. If this was the response in two days and that too for a service on a week day, services during weekends would bring 100 per cent benefit, G.K. Nagaraj of the Coimbatore Railway Struggle Committee said.
 

   Train No 16618 Coimbatore – Rameswaram Weekly Express will depart Coimbatore at 19:45 hrs on every Tuesday and arrive Rameswaram at 06:45 hrs on the next day. In the return direction, Train No 16617 Rameswaram – Coimbatore Weekly express will depart Rameswaram at 19:00 hrs on every Wednesday and arrive Coimbatore at 06:40 hrs on the next day. Enroute these trains will stop at Tiruppur, Erode, Karur, Tiruchchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Chettinad, Karaikkudi, Devakottai Road, Sivaganga, Manamadurai, Paramakudi,Ramanathapuram, Mandapam. Train No.16617 will stop at Coimbatore North also. These trains composition of 1 Air-Conditioned 2-Tier Sleeper, 3 Air-Conditioned 3-Tier Sleeper, 13 Sleeper Class, 2 General Second Class, 2 Second Class (General/Disabled Friendly)-cum-Luggage-cum-Brake Van = 21Coaches.


   Since this train passes through Tirupur, Erode, Karur, Tiruchirapalli, Pudukottai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram, it serves the travel needs of those who had migrated from the southern districts to Coimbatore in search of employment and setting up businesses, pointed out Coimbatore MP P.R. Natarajan.
 

   Coimbatore remained without rail link with many of these districts because of the Coimbatore-Dindigul –Palani gauge conversion work, said R. Raveendran of the Struggle Committee. The service also brought to an end the near domination of private buses in the night, said Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee members Jameel Ahmed and U.K. Sivagnanam. Meanwhile, the Struggle Committee has appealed to the Railway Ministry to consider increasing the frequency of the train. Also, the train users suggested that the departure time of the train at Coimbatore needed to be delayed by an hour to enable office-goers to plan their journey.
 

Naming the train
Rail activist Mr. Ravi wanted the Rameswaram Express to be named as Textile City or Cotton City Express since Coimbatore housed the South India Textile Research Association, South India Mills Association, Central Cotton Research Institute, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Textile Management and also had several textile mills.
He also added that just as the Coimbatore — Mannargudi — Coimbatore Mannargudi daily overnight train was named Semmozhi Express and the Thanjavur — Chennai Express as Uzhavan Express, the Coimbatore — Tirupati — Coimbatore Express should be named Kovai Srivari Express.

Two train services to benefit Coimbatore

An increase in frequency of service of the Coimbatore — Tirupati Inter-city Express from three days to four days and flagging off of the Coimbatore — Rameswaram — Coimbatore Weekly Express on September 12 and September 17, respectively, is expected to bring cheer to rail users in Coimbatore. Both the services were announced in the Union Railway Budget in February. Now, the Southern Railway and Salem Division are making arrangements to introduce the services.
    
   At present, Train Number 22616 (CBE-TPTY) is operated on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays leaves Coimbatore at 6am and reaches Tirupati at 1.40pm. In the return direction, Train Number 22615 is operated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and leaves Tirupati at 2.50pm and reaches Coimbatore at 10.40pm. As announced in the budget, Salem Division is planning to increase the frequency of the train from three to four days by bringing in the operation of the services on Thursdays as well.
 

   Similarly, under a rake sharing arrangement (sharing of coaches and locomotive) with the Coimbatore — Rajkot Express (Train No 16613/16614), Salem Division plans to introduce the Coimbatore — Rameswaram — Coimbatore Weekly Express (Train Number 16617/16618). The rakes of the Coimbatore — Rajkot Express lie idle at Coimbatore from Tuesday morning (2am) to Thursday night (11.45pm.) Under the rake sharing arrangement, Train Number 16617 will depart Coimbatore at 7.45pm on Tuesdays to reach Rameswaram on Wednesday morning at 6.45am. In the return direction, it would depart as Train Number 16618 from Rameswaram at 7.00pm and reach Coimbatore at 6.40am on Thursdays. The rakes would be taken up for maintenance at Coimbatore during day time on Tuesday and Thursday.

Temporarily Change in Express timings due to maintenance work

Due to the maintenance work in rail path between Chengalpattu - Tindivanam, the timing of 6 express trains has been changed temporarily from 6th - 8th september, 2013.

• According to that, for three days, Vaigai Express from Madurai will arrive at Chennai Egmore with a delay of two hours instead of 2:40 pm. 
• Same like that, Vaigai Express which starts at 1:20pm from Chennai Egmore to Madurai  Vaigai Express will have a halt for 50 minutes in Villupuram. 
• Chennai Egmore - Karaikudi Pallavan Express train will start from Chennai with a delay of 90 minutes.  
• Cholan Express from Tiruchirappalli will arrive Chennai Egmore with a delay of one hour.
• Also, Chennai Beach - Melmaruvathur Passenger train has been partially cancelled between Chengalpattu and Melmaruvathur. 
• The Chengalpattu - Melmaruvathur passenger train has been canceled completely.

34 coaches of Uzhavan Express have bio-toilets

Uzhavan Express that was flagged off from here on September 1, qualifies to be called a ‘green express’ as bio-toilets have been fitted into 34 of its 36 coaches. “Except first AC and AC two-tier coaches, all the other 34 coaches have been fitted with bio-toilets,” said Southern Railway officials.
    Indian Railways, at present, is running 1,400 coaches with 3,800 bio-toilets in various trains, according to a Southern Railway press release issued here on Thursday. In the first four months of the current year, more bio-toilets have been fitted into coaches than the entire number fitted in the last three years. The number of bio-toilets fitted into passenger coaches from April to July this year was 2,285, against 1,337 bio-toilets fitted during 2012-13, 169 during 2011-12, and 57 during 2010-11.
    The first bio-toilet-fitted train, Gwalior-Varanasi Bundelkhand Express, has been running since January 2011. After receiving encouraging feedback from the users and railway maintenance staff, the pace of fitment of these bio-toilets into passenger coaches has been ramped up. In its endeavour to take all necessary steps to keep station premises clean, Indian Railways is now manufacturing all-new conventional passenger coaches fitted with bio-toilets. A colony of anaerobic bacteria convert human waste mainly into water and small amount of gases (methane and CO2) in the bio-toilets has been fitted underneath the lavatories in coaches. The gases emit into the atmosphere and waste is discharged after chlorination onto the track. Human waste thus does not fall on the railway track. This procedure is environment-friendly and improves the working condition for the railway track staff.
    The toilets, according to the press release, will not function if they are chocked with plastic bottles, paper cups, cloth rags, sanitary napkin, nappies, plastic poly bags and pouches. The environment-friendly, low cost and robust technology has been developed jointly by the Indian Railways and Defence Research and Development Organisation. The bacteria used in the bio-toilet has been collected and analysed by DRDO from Antarctica and the efficiency of this system has been tested in extreme climates and conditions like those at Siachen Glacier. The anaerobic bacteria can survive in extreme climates and when exposed to common disinfectants.

Uzhavan Express skips Mambalam station!!!

Making its second journey since inauguration on Sunday, Uzhavan Express from Chennai Egmore junction missed Mam­balam station on its way to Thanjavur on Monday.

   Over 60 travelers who reached the station on time and had valid (reserved) tickets stood on the platform and helplessly watched the train cross Mambalam railway station. 
The loco pilot of Uzhavan Express forgot to make the scheduled stop at Mambalam. And he did not realize missing a scheduled stoppage until he reached Tambaram. But, the RPF personnel at Mambalam station  informed their counterparts in Tambaram and managed to get travellers onboard the same train. The RPF team sent the “left out” travellers by an EMU and also kept Uzhavan Express waiting at Tambaram. 

   "Our intervention caused a 30-minute delay. It could further increase the punctuality pressure the loco pilot faces. But, we were happy when we saw the travelers heave a sigh of relief after boarding the train at Tambaram,” said an RPF officer. “It is quite common for loco pilots to fall short on punctuality, but this is unheard of. Such incidents are very rare,” remarked a railway source in the know of things. The loco pilot could be someone who regularly pilots southbound trains that do not have stoppage at Mambalam. With Monday being the second trip of Uzhavan Express, the loco pilot could have followed his earlier schedule and overlooked the stoppage list of this train No. 16183, the source added.

Velankanni special train has been recommended to run daily

Due to the long time demand of Kanyakumari District People, Velankanni special train is operating from Nagercoil during the festival seasons in Velankanni. Kanyakumari district has a large Catholic population. The flow of traffic towards Velankanni was perennial all through the year. But the devotees did not have direct train services to Velankanni, for which demands have been raised by various sections of people, over the last few years. Since regular trains were not available for Velankanni, passengers had demanded special trains for the annual Velankanni festival last year, but Southern Railway did not heed to these requests. This year too, large number of pilgrims would be visiting Velankanni from Kanyakumari district for the festival. Absence of train and adequate bus services force these pilgrims to commute in hired cabs or buses. For their convenience, the Southern Railway has been requested to operate special trains between August 29 and September 8 from Nagercoil to Velankanni.

   Now, it is  recommending to run this special train (Nagercoil-Velankanni) as a daily express train for the benefits of Kanyakumari people.

Details on the trains' new number

1. Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Express train number 16107/16108 (the new number: 16859/16860)

2. Chennai Central - Mysore Kaveri Express

Train number 16021/16022 (the new number: 16221/16222)

3. Chennai Egmore - Rameswaram Express train

Number 16101/16102 (the new number: 16701/16702)

4. Chennai Egmore - tiruchendur Express train

Number 16105/16106 (the new number: 16735/16736)

5. Karaikal - Ernakulam Express train number

16187/16188 (the new number: 16865/16866)

TJ – MS train service is finally fixed

Thanjavur - Chennai new train service will start its journey in the first week of the September as assured by Railway Board Chairman.

   Railway Board Chairman, Arunentira Kumar said that the new train service between Thanjavur - Chennai would begin in the first week of September 2013. The name has not yet been finalized for the new train. Regarding this new rail service, the announcement will be released on end of this August (Monday or Tuesday).

   Also, the issue regarding the cancellation of extension of Rock Fort Express train service will be clarified after the introduction of Thanjavur – Chennai train service.

Southern Railway timetables in short supply!!!

Southern Railway released the new timetable for EMU and express trains on July 1, but the revised copy is not available at ticket counters at Chennai Central and other suburban stations across the city. In absence of sales at the railway counters, touts are reported to be selling the timetables to passengers at an increased price.
    

SR time table valid from July 2013-2014

   While a copy of the time table can be purchased at 15 at a regular counter at a station, the price in black goes up to 50. Many passengers complain that they are forced to wait for long hours and that some of them even miss the train in the absence of the timetable listing the new timings.
    
   S. Velmuthu, a senior citizen said, “I couldn’t find a single copy of the timetable at the stations. As I don’t have access to the internet, I am forced to call the railway enquiry numbers every time to confirm the train timings,” he said.

   Mohan Ram, a member of the divisional rail user’s consultative committee, said that some of the railway staff were purchasing bundles of new timetables and distributing them to their friends and relatives. This has resulted in a shortage of time tables, he said. “However, we have requested the Divisional Railway Manager to print additional copies and we hope that it will be available by the end of August.” He also said that though there was no rule prohibiting bulk purchase, the committee had asked the authorities to prevent the railway employees from purchasing several copies for personal use.
    
   A Southern Railway official said that a fresh stock of timetables had recently been dispatched for sales at counters. “The stock keeps coming in when there is a shortage,” he added.

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL TRAINS FOR VELANKANNI FESTIVAL

Railways have decided to run two additional special trains between Mumbai and Karaikal to clear the extra rush of passengers during Velankanni Festival. The details of service as under –
 
Special train (01027) will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 12.05 hrs on 24.8.2013 (Saturday) and will arrive Karaikal at 18.45 hrs next day.
01028 special train will leave Karaikal at 13.35 hrs on 26.8.2013 (Monday) and will arrive Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 23.45 hrs next day.

Halts: Thane, Kalyan, Lonavla, Pune, Solapur, Gulbarga, Wadi, Raichur, Guntakal, Gooty, Kadapa, Renigunta, Arakkonam, Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tirupadaripulliyur, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Nagore.

Composition: one AC 2-tier, one AC 2-tier cum AC 3-tier, Two AC 3-Tier, 10 Sleeper class, 2 General second class and 2 General second class cum guard’s brake vans.

Reservation: Bookings for 01027 will open from 22.8.2013.

Palakkad - Erode passenger train is partially cancelled till 26thAugust

Palakkad Town - Coimbatore electric train service was extended to Erode from 13^th May 2013. This train will leave Palakkad at 2:30p.m and arrive Erode at 7.00p.m. Then, from Erode, it will leave at 7.45a.m and will reach Palakkad at 12.30p.m. During the week, the other days except on Thursday, this runs as the passenger train. In this case, due to a new set Broadband railway line planned between Podanur - Pollachi R. S.., Palakkad Town - Erode passenger train service stopped yesterday.
   
   Till August 26th, train service between Erode - Palakkad Town was canceled as announced by the railway officials. Instead, the train operates only between Palakkad Town – Coimbatore till 26^th August.

Request of extending Hyderabad - Chennai Express to Kanniyakumari

Rail users in the district have urged the railway authorities to operate daily trains from Kanyakumari to Hyderabad through Tirunelveli and Madurai, which, according to them would benefit nearly 15 districts in the state. They further said that the operation of such train would help a large number of people employed in Hyderabad and also increase the inflow of tourists.

    The Kanyakumari District Railway Users' Association (KKDRUA) has proposed the extension of 12603/12604 Chennai - Hyderabad - Chennai Express to Kanyakumari which will meet their demand.

    According to S R Sriram, president of the association, Kanyakumari district is provided with connectivity to all major cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore through daily train services and destinations like New Delhi, Howrah, Jammu Tawi through weekly train services. However, the important connectivity to Hyderabad is lacking for the region though thousands of people from the region are employed in various fields especially in the IT sector. "We urge the railways to extend the Chennai - Hyderabad -Chennai Express daily to Kanyakumari so that it will serve large number of people. It should be noted that the trains originating from Chennai towards Hyderabad hardly travel 70 km in the state and if extended, it will serve people of 15 districts of the state," he said.

Shout for the Thanjavur - Chennai train service

The Thanjavur-Tiruchi Rail Passengers Association has appealed to the Southern Railway to introduce quickly an express train from Thanjavur to Chennai, the time table for which was announced by it earlier.   
   This was necessary now as the Rockfort Express was being short-terminated in Tiruchi from August 28, said members of the association who staged a demonstration in front of the railway station here on Friday demanding introduction of Thanjavur-Chennai Express. Members of Thanjavur Mootha Kudimakkal Peravai participated in the agitation.  
   The protesters demanded a stop for Mannargudi-Coimbatore Chemmozhi Express and Rameswaram-Chennai Express at Budalur. They appealed to the Southern Railway to complete the work on platform number one in Thanjavur station quickly. Ayyanapuram K. Nadarajan, President of the Rail Passengers’ Association, V. Jeevakumar, Legal Adviser of the association, Adhi Nedunchezhiyan from Mootha Kudimalla Peravai participated in the agitation.

Science Express gained a cheerful response in Trichy

The 2013 edition of Science Express-Biodiversity Special (SEBS), an innovative mobile exhibition on a specially designed train, which was stationed in Tiruchi junction for four days commencing Sunday, evoked an overwhelming response.

Visitors watching the science exhibition at a train, ''Science Express'',in Tiruchi on 11/8/2013

Not only a large number of students from schools and colleges drawn from across the central districts visited the exhibition, even people from different walks of life took advantage of the opportunity to understand biodiversity of different geographical zones of India, climate change, sustainable environment and energy conservation.

Over 80,000 people, including students, visited the exhibition in the last four days. On Wednesday, which was the last day of the four, over 32,000 people, including 10,000 students and teachers of 120 schools visited the exhibition, according to railway sources. In the current phase, the express was flagged off from Delhi Safdarjung on April 9 this year and will run across the country to 62 locations till October 28. The Science Express will be halted next in Koodal Nagar near Madurai city for four days. Later, the train will arrive at Coimbatore on August 23.

Delay In Service!!!

As announced by the Southern Railway, Train no. 12433 Chennai central - Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin (Rajdhani Express) will start today (21/7/2013) from Chennai at 10.15a.m. instead of 6.10a.m. This temporary delay is due to the link train which arrives late to Chennai.

Rescheduling of trains

Trains partially cancelled between Villupuram & Tiruchchirappalli on 10.07.2013

1. Train No. 56706 Madurai – Villupuram Passenger leaving Madurai at 01.15 hrs.

2. Train No. 56705 Villupuram –Madurai Passenger leaving Villupuram at 15.00 hrs.

Trains divertedvia. Villupuram, Mayiladuturaiand Thanjavuron 10.07.2013

1.T.No. 12636 Madurai – Chennai Egmore Vaigai Express leaving Madurai at 06.50 hrs.and leaving Tiruchchirappalli at 09.00 hrs.

2.T.No.16127 Chennai Egmore – Guruvayur Express leaving Chennai Egmore at 07.40 hrs. and leaving Villupuram at 10.35 hrs.

3.T.No.16128 Guruvayur – Chennai Egmore Express leaving Guruvayur at 20.50 hrs. on 9.7.2013 and leaving Tiruchchirappalli at 14.10 hrs. on 10.7.2013.

Abstract timings of the trains diverted via. Villupuram, Mayiladuturai & Thanjavur

16127	¯Stations­	12636	16128
07.40	Chennai Egmore	16.15	22.10
10.33/10.35	Villupuram	13.30/13.35	18.45/18.55
13.10/13.12	Mayladuturai	11.05/11.07	16.45/16.47
14.25/14.35	Thanjavur	10.00/10.10	15.25/15.35
15.30/15.40	Tiruchchirappalli	08.50/09.00	14.05/14.10