Swiss-made loco model at entrance of Kovai railway station a ‘luring threat’ for public

The model was installed to give a facelift to the station by the Salem Railway Division of Southern Railways.

Efforts to install the heritage engine at the station began about a month ago. A five-foot tall platform close to 35 feet wide was constructed in the main entrance to the railway station. A special rack and pinion track (used on the Nilgiri Mountain Rail (NMR) route to this day) to provide grip for the train on the hilly area was also laid on the metre gauge track before the heritage engine was installed on it on Sunday night.

It is said that the majestic X 37389 engine was built at the Swiss Locomotives and Machines factory in Winterthur, Switzerland. The engine weighing 50.3 tonnes that can haul 979 tonnes was in use till 2012, when it was replaced by an oil-fired steam engine. This is the fourth NMR loco that has been displayed at a railway station, after Udhagamandalam, Coonoor and Mettupalayam. 

The model loco has eaten into the pedestrian space. Passengers have to squeeze in and out of the station in the very little space available on either side of the loco, sharing the path for pick up and drop vehicles and taxis. 

Suresh Rajan, a regular commuter said that they are not against preserving heritage. “The place and way in which it has been positioned is worrying. Had it been displayed vertically between the portico and the entrance there would not have been much problem. There is chaos at the entrance now as autorickshaws block the available space,” he added.

President of Citizen’s Voice Club CM Jayaraman said, “The choice of location is wrong. The loco could have been displayed at a prominent place on an elevated platform without affecting passengers. Now it is more of a wall separating the station from the road,” he said. 

Jayaraman, who took up the issue with the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Salem Division, Hari Shankar Varma, suggested that the railways should seek the opinion of passengers before taking such a decision. 

But, Hari Shankar Varma refuted the charge that the loco is inconveniencing passengers. It is the autorickshaw and taxi drivers who are raking up the issue. Stating that the loco has given a facelift to the station, the DRM adds that only persons with vested interests are opposing it.