RailEnquiry

TRICHY: Member of Parliament from Trichy, P Kumar, on Friday walked out of a coordination meeting between MPs, whose constituencies come under Trichy and Madurai divisions, and railway officials alleging that none of his proposals had been considered. Kumar charged that he had submitted 18 proposals to the railway board but none of them had been considered favourably.Kumar had been raising his voice to restore the Rockfort Express back to its original schedule between Trichy and Chennai Egmore. The Rockfort Express, which was running between Chennai and Trichy was cancelled in 2000 during the gauge makeover, and when it was reintroduced it was extended up to Thanjavur in 2006, and then to Kumbakonam in 2008. "It is only natural that the Rockfort Express must originate from the Rockfort city and if such a small demand is not fulfilled, and every proposal is explained away that it would be considered by the Railway Board, then what is the point of meeting here," Kumar said before walking out.Mayiladuthurai MP O S Maniam highlighted that there is no express train that originates from Thanjavur at present and wanted the Tiruchendur Express to make a stopover at Papanasam that would benefit the business community. The MPs also wanted the recently introduced intercity express between Trichy and Tirunelveli to be extended up to Kanyakumari and sought for a stop at Mannapparai.