Passengers’ association demands Mettupalayam-Thoothukudi train

Coimbatore: The Pollachi Train Passengers Welfare Association has demanded that the erstwhile Coimbatore-Thoothukudi train be reintroduced as the Mettupalayam-Thoothukudi train. The train will help lakhs of workers from southern Tamil Nadu who travel to farms and industries in Pollachi and Mettupalayam for work. They also demand that the Pollachi-Coimbatore train be restored and extended to Mettupalayam, which will provide connectivity to the Nilgiris.
The association wrote to Coimbatore MP P R Natarajan on Wednesday requesting to reintroduce the Coimbatore-Thoothukudi train as Mettupalayam-Thoothukudi train."The train will help not just workers, but also traders, businessmen and pilgrims, because this train passing through Madurai, Virudhunagar and Palani will connect all major temples in and around Madurai and Palani," secretary of the association B Mohan Raj said. Tourists too will benefit because it will connect destinations like Ooty, Marudhumalai, Valparai, Munnar and Palani and Madurai, they wrote.
Passengers also requested that the Pollachi-Coimbatore and Madurai-Palani-Coimbatore passenger trains till Mettupalayam and also operate a new passenger and express train from Mettupalayam to south Tamil Nadu destinations—Coimbatore and Pollachi.TNN