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Chemmozhi Express flagged off | The Hindu by railgenie on 12 June, 2013 - 03:02 PM
avatar railgenie Chemmozhi Express flagged off | The Hindu on 12 June, 2013 - 03:02 PM

Mannargudi-Coimbatore Chemmozhi Express started its services from the temple town of Mannargudi to the textile city of Coimbatore on Tuesday. The train with brand new 16 coaches was flagged off by R. Kamaraj, Food Minister, and Sudha Anbuselvan, Chairperson of Mannargudi Municipality, from Mannargudi railway station at 8.10 p.m.

The train will reach Coimbatore at 5 a.m. on Wednesday via Needamangalam, Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Karur, Erode, and Tirupur. On the downward journey, the train will depart from Coimbatore at 11.55 p.m. and reach Mannargudi at 7.55 a.m.

People of Mannargudi welcomed the express train and said that it will be a convenient and useful train for them. “This is one of the best trains from Mannargudi. For Thanjavur people there are now two trains to Coimbatore. One Janshatapdi express and the second is the “Chemmozhi Express,” said S. Ranganathan, a resident of Mannargudi and secretary of Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association.

Railway officials said the occupancy on the first day itself was 95 per cent. “We hope that the train will get a good patronage,” they said.

Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Tiruchi, S.A. Abdul Rahman, Additional Divisional Manager, took part in the function. AIADMK cadre came in large numbers and hailed Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for the train service. The Minister and the cadres distributed sweets to people who gathered at the railway station.

Pujas were performed in the beginning and prasadam from Sri Rajagopalaswamy Temple was given to the Minister.

Although T.R. Baalu, DMK MP and chairman of Parliament Standing Committee on Railways, was instrumental in introducing the train which has been named as Chemmozhi Express, he or other DMK personalities like S.S. Palani Manickam, Thanjavur MP, and T.R.B. Raja, Mannargudi MLA who were called by the Southern Railway to the flagging off, did not attend the function.

It became an AIADMK show with the cadre thronging the railway station and hailing the Chief Minister. However, DMK cadre put up posters hailing T.R. Baalu for getting the train to Mannargudi.