Call for realignment of Trichy railway division gains traction

TRICHY: The demand for realigning Trichy railway division is gaining momentum in the wake of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Due to the odd boundary of the division, it is said that commuters as well as the railway employees have been facing various problems.

Since most of the railway stations in the south and northwest part of the district have been governed by Madurai or Salem divisions, the passengers are forced to approach these division in case of any issues.

The association of rail users has handed over their representations in this regard to all the candidates contesting from Trichy Lok Sabha segment.

Trichy division abruptly ends 500 meters south of Trichy junction towards Pudukkottai and Manapprai under the Madurai division. Similarly, the division ends at Trichy Fort station just 3km northwest. Many areas such as Anbu Nagar, Rettai Malai in the city, which are just 3-4km away from the Trichy railway junction, fall within the jurisdiction of Madurai division. To the northwest, stations such as Kambarasampettai, Mutharasanallur, Jeeyapuram, Pettaivaithalai come under Salem division. Earlier all these stations were with Palaghat division.

“The stations coming under other divisions in Trichy city are in very poor condition. There are no basic amenities at these stations. Railway employees working at these stations and level-crossings are forced to report to Madurai and Salem. They are also forced to travel hundreds of miles to meet the officials. I have submitted a detailed memorandum in this regard to all the contestants in Trichy parliamentary constituency,” said president of Air, Rail and Road Travellers’ Federation M Sekaran.

“The issues such as the establishment of subways or maintenance of limited use subways in the city and district remain unsolved because of this. The residents have to depend on the officials of Madurai and Salem divisions to address their issues. Since these stations are far away from Madurai and Salem, the respective officials rarely respond to the demands,” said Trichy Intra-City Development Endeavors VB Jaganath.

“Thousands are commuting between Trichy and Pudukottai. Educational institutions such as IIM-Trichy, Bharathidasan University and hundreds of industries are functioning on the stretch. It will be helpful for the commuters if a DEMU service was introduced between Pudukottai and Karaikkudi after adding these stations to Trichy division,” he said.

Stations such as Pungudi, Kolatur, Samudram and Manapparai in Trichy fall under Madurai division. From Manaparai, thousands of people are commuting to Trichy city for various purposes. A DEMU service between Manapparai and Trichy can ease the travel woes of the commuters, he added.

When contacted a senior official from Trichy railway division told TOI that as far as the administration was concerned they found no difficulty with the uneven boundary of Trichy railway division.