The Palakkad–Pollachi line is a railway line between Palakkad and Pollachi in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India which comes under Palakkad railway division of Southern Railway zone. It connects Palakkad with Dindigul - Pollachi railway section.
History The line was completed as a Metre-gauge railway during British Raj when the region was under Madras Presidency on 1 April 1932. The line was closed for gauge conversion between 10 December 2008 and 25 October 2015.
The section of the line between Palakkad Town and Pollachi completed safety testing on 2 October 2015. The safety inspection that followed conversion of the track was completed on 7 October 2015. The line was approved for passenger train services by the Commissioner of Railway Safety on 8 October 2015.
On 25 October, a load tolerance test was conducted with a train with 42 wagons carrying 3,720 tonnes of fertiliser and goods services resumed. Passenger services resumed on 16 November.
Gauge The Palakkad–Pollachi line is a broad gauge railway line.
Before the conversion which was completed in April 2015, the line was formerly partly 1676 mm-gauge (Palakkad Junction to Palakkad Town) and partly , between Palakkad Junction and Pollachi Junction. The maximum permissible speed in this section is 110 kmph.
Train services The route has only six train services as of present.
Trains (Palakkad Junction- Pollachi Route) No.Train No.NameFromToDaily1. 16622RMM Weekly ExpressPGTRMMNo2. 16343Amritha ExpressTVCRMMYes3. 16731Tiruchendur ExpressPGTTCNYes4. 22652PGT MAS SF ExpressPGTMASYes5. 66623PGT POY MEMUPGTPOYNo6. 16707TEN ExpressMAJNTENNo Trains (Pollachi- Palakkad Junction Route) No.Train No.NameFromToDaily1. 66624POY PGT MEMUPOYPGTNo2. 22651PGT SF ExpressMASPGTYes3. 16344Amritha ExpressRMMTVCYes4. 16732PGT ExpressTCNPGTYes5. 16708MAJN ExpressTENMAJNNo6. 16621MAQ Weekly ExpressRMMPGTNo
There are Railway Board approvals to extend KSR Bengaluru–Coimbatore Uday Express to Palakkad via Pollachi.
Other demands:
Commence new passenger trains on the Dindigul–Pollachi–Palakkad section to serve pilgrims and commuters heading to hubs like Palani and Madurai. Extension of Nilambur Road–Palakkad Junction passenger train and Ernakulam - Palakkad MEMU further to Pollachi to create a seamless link between northern/centralKerala and central Tamil Nadu.
These services have not commenced due to alleged regional lobbying in Tamil Nadu.
There are two MEMU services and an Express train to Tiruchirappalli operates from Palakkad Town via Jolarpettai–Shoranur line.
Lacunae During Metre-gauge railway period the section had more trains and there is massive criticism over under utilization of network. The lack of rail bypass to enter Shoranur line without loco-reversal at Palakkad Junction is often cited as major bottleneck in development of the line. The lack of pitline in Palakkad is another factor hindering operation of more trains. There is criticism that electrification has reduced beauty and tourist potential of stations like Muthalamada railway station.
Rolling stock Rolling stock : WAP-1 WAP-4 WAG-7 WAP -7 WAG 9 WAG 12B WAG 7&WAG 5HA
Historic rolling stock: YDM-4(1983–2009) WDP 4D(2019–2022) WDG 3A(2019–2021) WDM 2(2017–2019) WDG 4 (2015–2020) WDM 3A.(from 2016 to 2021) WDP 3A (until 24 September 2021)
Stations
Meenakshipuram Annamalai Road (S.G. Pudur)
Image gallery
References