Railway to extend two MEMU services to Nilambur soon

The Southern Railway is preparing to extend two MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) services up to Nilambur soon. The demand for MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) services to Nilambur had increased with the electrification of the 65.12-km rail line between Shoranur and Nilambur. It has been nearly a year since the Railway completed the Shoranur-Nilambur rail line electrification by spending ₹70 crore.

Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager A.K. Chaturvedi told The Hindu that extension Ernakulam-Shoranur MEMU (66319) and Coimbatore-Shoranur MEMU (66603) passenger trains up to Nilambur was under process. He said the Railway would extend those MEMU services up to Nilambur one by one.

P.V. Abdul Wahab, Rajya Sabha MP from Nilambur, had demanded the extension of those MEMU services to Nilambur. He also demanded that the rake of the Rajya Rani Express, which lies idle for about 16 hours at Nilambur, be used to run a day train from Nilambur to Kottayam.

Meanwhile, social media groups were awash with celebratory posters congratulating P.P. Suneer, MP, on getting Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur Venad Express (16302) extended up to Nilambur. Mr. Suneer had demanded extension of Venad Express up to Nilambur.

However, Railway officials on Tuesday denied having taken decision on it. Mr. Chaturvedi said that extending Venad Express to Nilambur would be too hard considering its timing.

At present there are only seven pairs of trains between Nilambur and Shoranur. Apart from the four passenger trains from Nilambur to Shoranur, one trains runs from Nilambur to Palakkad, another from Nilambur to Kottayam, and another from Nilambur to Thiruvananthapuram. When two of them are Express trains, the remaining five are passenger trains. One of the demands Mr. Wahab raised was to convert all passenger trains into MEMU trains.

The demand for a morning train from Nilambur to Ernakulam side has increased. “We don’t have a morning train from Nilambur for office goers. Rajya Rani Express reaches Nilambur around 5 a.m. and lies there till 9.30 p.m. If the Railway introduces a morning train to Kottayam using the Rajya Rani rake, it will be a boon for hundreds of office-goers from this region,” said Biju Ninan, secretary of the Nilambur-Mysore Railway Action Council.

Action Council general secretary Joshua Koshy met Wayanad’s MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra last week and demanded introduction of a Vande Bharat Express train between Nilambur and Thiruvananthapuram. “At present there is no day train from Nilambur to Thiruvananthapuram. A Vande Bharat Express will not only address this gap, but also offer a fast train in this sector,” said Mr. Koshy.