Express train from Rameswaram, passenger train from Thoothukudi planned
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Nearly five years after Madurai-Coimbatore gauge conversion work was completed, Southern Railway has proposed to run two pairs of trains connecting Rameswaram and Thoothukudi with Coimbatore. However, the schedule of launching the services is yet to be finalised.
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According to Railway sources, the introduction of the new trains comes close on the heels of a meeting that MPs from Madurai and Tiruchi railway divisions had with the General Manager of Southern Railway at Tiruchi recently.
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The MPs had impressed upon the railway officials about the Madurai-Coimbatore railway track lying idle without much train operation despite a huge demand for trains connecting Coimbatore with southern districts. The official said that introduction of the Rameswaram-Coimbatore Express train will help effective utilisation of the Dindigul-Palani-Pollachi-Coimbatore broad gauge section.
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The Southern Railway has decided to re-introduce Rameswaram-Coimbatore-Rameswaram daily express to connect the pilgrim centre of Rameswaram. “This will certainly attract a good patronage,” a railway official said.
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The train has been tentatively scheduled to leave Rameswaram at 10.30 p.m. and reach Madurai at 2.20 a.m. the next day. It would arrive at Dindigul (3.50 a.m.), Palani (5.25 a.m.), Pollachi (6.45 a.m.) and reach Coimbatore at 8 a.m. In the return direction, it would leave Coimbatore at 10.30 p.m. and reach Rameswaram at 8 a.m.
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Thoothukudi train
Similarly, a fast passenger would be introduced between Thoothukudi and Coimbatore. It would be run via Vanchi Maniyachi, Madurai, Dindigul, Palani, Pollachi, Podanur and Coimbatore.
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It would be run with nine general sitting coaches and two sitting-cum-luggage coaches. An official said that the demand for train to Coimbatore was high from Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Madurai and Dindigul.