New Trains via Trichy

A new overnight train linking the city with the temple town of Mannargudi in Thiruvarur district via Thanjavur and Trichy will be launched this coming Tuesday. The train has been named Chemmozhi Express (Classical Language Express), a tribute to the World Classical Tamil Conference held in Coimbatore three years ago at the behest of then DMK Government. The long-pending demand for a train connecting the delta region with Coimbatore was cleared in the last railway budget at the intervention of DMK's Lok Sabha leader T R Baalu, whose native is close to Mannargudi. As chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, Balu worked hard to make the train service a reality.
As per the schedule, the first train from Mannargudi will start at 8.10 pm on Tuesday and will reach Coimbatore City Junction at 5 am on Wednesday. It will stop at Nidamangalam, Thanjavur, Trichy, Karur, Erode, Tirupur and North Coimbatore during the journey. The first service from Coimbatore to Mannargudi will be on Wednesday night at 11.55 pm. The train will reach Trichy at 4.40 am and Thanjavur at 6.13 am. It will reach Mannargudi at 7.55 am.
"The train is very convenient for travelers from the delta region. After the Mangalore-Trichy-Chennai train leaves Coimbatore at 3.30 pm, people will have to wait for another train till 3.30 am when the tea garden express bound for Karaikal reaches the station. The train timings are very inconvenient. Besides, the seating capacity is minimal,'' said Jameel Ahmed, president of Coimbatore Railway Users Welfare Association.
According to him, the train can be used as a link express to facilitate travel for those bound for Madurai and Rameswaram. It will reach Trichy station at 4.50 am and by that time, the Rameswaram Express from Chennai would have arrived there. Adding four coaches to the Mannargudi Express and delinking them at Trichy to be used for the Rameswaram Express will benefit many passengers,'' he said.
Welcoming the train, Coimbatore railway struggle committee's R Raveendran said, "The city is in need of night trains to Rameswaram, Chennai, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram. Now, the new train can help delta residents visit Coimbatore". The committee is planning a grand reception once the train reaches Coimbatore junction.