After a gap of nearly 30 years, Train No.16041/16042 Chennai -Alleppey - Chennai Express is all set to be routed via Coimbatore.Train No. 16331/16332 Mumbai CSTM - Thiruvananthapuram - MumbaiCSTM weekly Express will also pass through Coimbatore. Confirming the Railway Board's decision to clear the proposal forrouting these trains, convenor of the struggle committee G.K.Nagaraj and rail activist S. Nagaraj said it was the result oftheir sustained efforts. He added that the committee's effortswould continue for other trains too. Mr. Nagaraj said that absence of the Coimbatore - Irugur secondline in the past was the reason for the neglect of Coimbatore. Now, the proposal to double the Podanur - Irugur line is likely toenlarge the threat for trains skipping Coimbatore. The committee would oppose the doubling and push for the singleline to be declared as a dedicated freight corridor. It may be recalled that the committee had waged a long draw outstruggle to get 13 pairs of trains (weekly, bi-weekly, tri-weekly,six days a week and daily) routed via Coimbatore. All of them wererunning via Irugur - Podanur - Irugur section. Some with a halt at Coimbatore and some others skip it. Demand Citing passenger potential, demand and the fact that Coimbatore wasthe next largest revenue spinner next to Chennai, the strugglecommittee met all top officials in the Railways, includingministers. The first victory for the committee came in the form of a halt atPodanur for the Tirunelveli - Bilaspur - Tirunelveli Express andYeswantpur - Kannur - Yeswantpur Express, providing overnight railconnectivity to Bangalore. ‘Cheer to rail users' The decision of the Railway Board to route Chennai Central -Alleppey - Chennai Central Express train brought lot of cheer torail users in this part of the State. After analysing the pathwaycongestion and Advance Reservation Period (ARP), Southern Railwaywill decide on the exact date from which these two trains would runvia Coimbatore. The train was running via Coimbatore 30 years ago as 41/42 Madras -Kochi Express and was later extended from Kochi to Alleppey. Itprovides convenient overnight connectivity between Coimbatore andChennai besides early morning train option up to Alleppey. The train also has non-AC first class accommodation for thosewanting to travel first class without AC. The Railway timetable of1977 reveals that this train was originally run via Coimbatore. Italso indicates that the Thiruvananthapuram - Chennai -Thiruvanthapuram Mail (12623/24), which runs via Podanur skippingCoimbatore, earlier ran via Coimbatore as 12/20 Madras -Thiruvananthapuram Mail. The Chennai - Alleppey train leaves Chennai at 9.15 p.m. andreaches Coimbatore at 4.30 a.m. It reaches Alleppey at 10.45 a.m.In the return direction, the train leaves Alleppey at 4.05 p.m. andreaches Coimbatore at 10 p.m. and reaches Chennai at 6.05 a.m. The Mumbai CSTM – Thiruvananthapuram – Mumbai CSTMExpress will arrive from Mumbai to Coimbatore on Tuesdays around6.40 p.m., providing convenient overnight express trainconnectivity to Thiruvananthapuram. In the return direction, thetrain will leave Thiruvananthapuram on Saturdays and reachCoimbatore around 1.20 p.m. The Railways is also considering routing two more trains viaCoimbatore — 12697/98 Chennai - Thiruvananthapuram - Chennaiweekly Express and the 12685/86 Chennai - Mangalore six-days-a-weektrain (to be made daily from August 18). These two trains would provide more accommodation on the Coimbatore- Chennai and Coimbatore - Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuramsectors. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Rechargeable Nimh Batteries , Nicd Nimh Battery Charger Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Rechargeable Lead Acid Batteries today!
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