Trivandrum: Union Minister of State of Railways, Shri Rajen Gohain will flag off Train No.16355/16356 Kochuveli – Mangalore Antyodaya Express on 09th June 2018 at Kochuveli Railway Station. The same day, he will also dedicate the newly gauge converted section between Punalur – Senkottai at Punalur Railway station and later, inaugurate the new station building at Changanassery Railway Station.
Train No. 16335/16356 Kochuveli – Mangaluru Junction Antyodaya Express will address the demands of last minute passengers and people who travel frequently from/to the state capital towards Malabar and Konkan regions.
Antyodaya Express is a long-distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service, for the common man operated on dense routes. Antyodaya Express, Aimed at making long-distance travel more comfortable for the unreserved passengers, is equipped with many novel facilities. The interior panelling of the coaches has been done with aluminium composite panels, similar to Deen Dayalu coaches. The train has cushioned luggage racks with coat hooks, LED lights, mobile and laptop charging points, water purifiers (aqua-guard), fire extinguishers with an anti-theft arrangement and enhanced capacity dustbins. The bio-toilets in the train are in line with Indian Railways’ vision to keep tracks defecation free.
Sengottai – Punalur GC section is part of Kollam – Tirunelveli – Tiruchendur & Tenkasi – Virudunagar (357 Km) Gauge Conversion project. The section which traverses through the Kollam district of Kerala would give a fillip to the connectivity between Tamilnadu and Kerala states. This section will form part of the Tenkasi-Virudhunagar trunk route to Chennai. It is also linked to Kollam-Senkottai-Tenkasi-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur route.
The gauge conversion work was carried out in the difficult terrains round the clock notwithstanding the vagaries of nature. The Broad Gauge sections between Sengottai – New Aryankavu (20 Km) and Punalur – Edamann (8 Km) were commissioned on 31.3.2017. New Aryankavu – Edamann stretch (21 km) section is the last stretch of the newly converted Punalur – Sengottai Broad Gauge Section and was commissioned on 31.3. 2018.
As part of Chengannur – Chingavanam Doubling project, which is nearing completion, the station building at Changanacherry has been newly constructed at a cost of Rs.7.2 crore. The new station building is equipped with a host of facilities such as Current & Advance Booking Counters, Parcel Booking facility, I/II Class and Ladies Waiting halls, Differently-abled friendly Gents & Ladies toilets, ramps and a VIP Lounge.
Kerala Rail News