Title - Century-old Vadamadurai station closure plan sparks protests

Shops downed shutters and autorickshaws kept off the roads at Vadamadurai near here on Tuesday in protest over the proposed move by railway authorities to close down the century-old Vadamadurai railway station.The town panchayat wore a deserted look with approximately 500 shops remaining shut and autorickshaws staying off the streets as traders and members of the Chamber of Commerce in Vadamadurai joined the public to mark their protest.The doubling of the track between Tiruchi and Dindigul is said to be the reason behind the decision to close the station.Vadamadurai Chamber of Commerce president S.Thiagarajan said this station catered for a population of over 20,000 in and around Vadamadurai. Thousands of students and workers commuted on passenger trains to Tiruchi and Manaparai every day, he pointed out.At present, Madurai-Villupuram and Dindigul-Nagoor passenger trains stopped at Vadamadurai station in the morning and evening, and pressure was mounting on the railways to ensure that the Tirunelveli-Mayiladuthurai fast passenger train stopped at Vadamadurai, he noted.

Local residents said trains were the cheapest mode of transport for rural people. The bus fare to Dindigul from Vadamadurai was Rs.10, whereas the train fare was only Rs.5. Similarly, the bus fare to Tiruchi from Vadamadurai was Rs.48, but the train fare was just Rs.15, they pointed out.

But railway officials said the minimum distance between two stations should be 15 kilometres in double-track sections. But the distance between Thamaraipadi and Vadamadurai was just 7 km. This station served as a crossing point for trains in the absence of a double-track, they noted.

Moreover, the revenue generated by the Vadamadurai station was only Rs.20,000 per month, but the minimum expenditure incurred by the station, including the salaries of the railway employees, was Rs.2 lakh, they added.

There are also plans to establish a goods shed at Thamaraipadi railway station.

The railways have also proposed to close the Chettiyapatti railway station near Manaparai in the Dindigul-Tiruchi section, the sources said.