The Southern Railway must really take stock of its time table planning if it would really like to avoid rubbing the public on the wrong side.
After the Villupuram Katpadi gauge conversion, SR has planned to run a bi-weekly express between Tirupati and Madurai passing through the major pilgrim belt of Thiruvannamalai, Mayiladuthurai Jn., Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Sirkazhi, Trichy,
before reaching Madurai. This train is ostensibly a pilgrim express.
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The first disappointment was that it is not a daily train unlike the meter gauge express prior to gauge conversion several years ago.
The real rude shock was the train did not have halts at major centres of Thiruvannamalai, Mayiladuthurai Jn., Kumbakonam and Sirkazhi which are being visited by tourists from all over the world not only for the spiritual gains but also for study of ancient temple architecture, philosophy and many related subjects.
When representations were made to the railway, they apparently ignored the same as a routine affair. Finally, a public interest litigation was filed in the court.
Now the railway has issued a circular, that the Railway Board had approved stops at Thiruvannamalai, myladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Sirkazhi and Kodaikanal on a temporary basis!!.
Anyway it is obviously a face saving device and these stops would certainly be a permanent feature.
The news has been flashed all over NDTV. While railway might have ultimately seen sense, the growing perception is there is a large disconnect with the travelling public, the ultimate customers. In fact the IRS officers must be strictly instructed to study the areas under consideration, make a few visits to various important railway centres and interact with the institutions who matter.Most of these railway officials are from outside the state, and do not really take any effort to understand the areas they are catering to. When every thing fails, people resort to political means, and an MP or a Minister intervenes and things get sorted out.
The negative side of the issue, is that politicians get a leverage to interfere in the railway administration due to the ineptness of the railways to manage its problems.