Coimbatore
The train services, stopped following the outbreak of COVID-19, is to be operated nearly after a year on all days of the week, except Sundays. People travelling by packed buses shelling out a higher fare may now be happy to shift to the hassle free train commute.
The construction of flyovers near Kavundampalayam on Mettupalayam Road has been causing frequent traffic hiccups on the busy stretch. Buses were also re-routed due to flyover work resulting in a longer journey time for passengers.
According to the railways, train number 06009 will depart Mettupalayam at 8.20 am to reach Coimbatore at 9.05 pm. In the return, Train No 06010 will leave Coimbatore at 5.55 pm and reach Mettupalayam at 6.40 pm.
Though resumption of train services has come as a relief, the railways has however restricted the number of trips between Coimbatore to Mettupalayam to just two in a day. Before the pandemic, the railways were operating eight trips a day between Coimbatore and Mettupalayam.
However, the train movement has to be brought to pre-COVID-19 times for the sake of convenience of the public.
Pressing for increasing the services, Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK), which held a protest last week in this regard, has planned to write a letter to the railways to resume all the eight services per day. “Also, the passenger trains between Coimbatore-Pollachi should be resumed at the earliest. Resuming these train services will also generate revenue for the railways,” said K Ramakrishnan, general secretary of TPDK.
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