RailEnquiry

Train blockades would be organised at Nagercoil, Kuzhithurai and Thiruvananthapuram railway junctions for three days and also railway offices would be picketed for another three days during August along with the members of the Congress party to urge the Southern railways to find an early solution to their demands, the MLA of Colachel constituency, J. G. Prince has said.In a memorandum to the Union Minister for Railways he said that Kanyakumari being an international tourist spot, thousands of domestic and foreign tourists visited the district in peak seasons. Nagercoil railway station was an important railhead of the Southern Railways. It was on the Chennai–Thiruvananthapuram rail route via Tiruchi and Madurai.The station was linked with Kanyakumari by broad gauge. Regular train services were being operated to Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. The district has the highest literacy rate in Tamil Nadu (88.11percent) and a population of 1,676,034 people.It has various educational institutions including self financing engineering colleges (more than 15 colleges), the state-run Kanyakumari Medical College Hospital at Asaripallam near Nagercoil and many polytechnic colleges and arts and science colleges.Most of the educated people were commuting daily for employment and fulfilled their urgency in day-to-day work to Tirunelveli, Madurai, Tiruchi, Chennai, etc.The Railway Minister had announced Tiruchi - Tirunelveli inter-city express during the railway budget.The proposed Tiruchi - Tirunelveli inter-city express should be extended up to Nagercoil for the convenience of the rail passengers in the district.This would be very convenient for those commuting to Tirunelveli, Madurai, since the district has very few trains towards Tiruchi via Tirunelveli and Madurai. The people of Kanyakumari would be grateful if the Government would extend the recently announced Tiruchi- Tirunelveli inter-city express via Madurai, Virudunagar and up to Nagercoil.Moreover the train.No.12787/88 (Bilaspur-Tirunelveli-Bilaspur) and Train.No.12997/98 (Tirunelveli-Happa-Tirunelveli) were being operated between Thiruvananthapuram and Tirunelveli via Nagercoil town without touching Nagercoil junction railway station. As a result the passengers in the district were put to hardships.The railway administration has also neglected the Nagercoil railway junction even as the Nagercoil junction has an ‘A' grade status in Thiruvananthapuram Division of Southern Railway.Hence, they suggested a new plan to lay a line between Nagercoil junction and Aloor via Chettikulam outer, Christopher Nagar (Parvathipuram – only 8.5 km), so as to avoid crew change at Nagercoil junction railway station, since the existing railway line between Nagercoil Junction and Aloor was about 11 km distance.He further stated that thousands of international tourists, passengers, traders, students, employees of various government departments and other sectors were travelling from Kanyakumari to Mysore via Madurai, Tiruchi through buses with various inconveniences due to lack of train service.Hence, a daily train was an immediate need from Kanyakumari to Mysore via Madurai and Tiruchi.If these demands were not considered immediately, the Congress workers would not hesitate to organise train blockade on August 1 at Nagercoil railway junction, August 6 at Kuzhithurai railway junction and August 11 at Thiruvananthapuram railway junction and the picketing of the Railway manager office at Nagercoil on August 16, Divisional railway manager's office at Thiruvananthapuram on August 21 and Office of Chairman, Railway Board, New Delhi on August 26 would be organised with the support of the leaders of Tamil Nadu Congress, said J. G. Prince.