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Palakkad–Pollachi line
Railway line in India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.[1] It connects Palakkad with Dindigul - Pollachi railway section.
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History
The line was completed as a Metre-gauge railway during British Raj when the region was under Madras Presidency on 1 April 1932.[2] The line was closed for gauge conversion as per Project Unigauge on 10 December 2008 and the same got completed in 2015.
The section of the line between Palakkad Town and Pollachi completed safety testing on 2 October 2015.[3] The safety inspection that followed conversion of the track was completed on 7 October 2015.[3] The line was approved for passenger train services by the Commissioner of Railway Safety on 8 October 2015.[4][5][6]
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.[7][8][9] Passenger services resumed on 16 November.[10][11]
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Gauge
The Palakkad–Pollachi line is a 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge railway line.[5]
Before the conversion which was completed in April 2015, the line was formerly partly 1676 mm-gauge (Palakkad Junction to Palakkad Town) and partly 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge, between Palakkad Junction and Pollachi Junction.[1] The maximum permissible speed in this section is 110 kmph.[12]
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Train services
The route has only three train services as of present.
- Chennai–Palakkad Superfast Express
- Amritha Express
- Palakkad - Tiruchendur Express
There are Railway Board approvals to,
- Extend KSR Bengaluru–Coimbatore Uday Express to Palakkad via Pollachi and
- Commence Mangaluru - Rameswaram Weekly Express.
These services have not commenced due to alleged regional lobbying in Tamil Nadu.[13][14]
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.[15][16] The lack of pitline in Palakkad is another factor hindering operation of more trains.[17] There is criticism that electrification has reduced beauty and tourist potential of stations like Muthalamada railway station.[18]
Rolling stock
Rolling stock as of 2017[update]:
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 2016-2021)
- WDP 3A (until 24 September 2021)
Stations
- Palakkad Junction [5]
- Palakkad Town[5]
- Pudunagaram
- Vadakannikaapuram
- Kollengode
- Muthalamada
- Meenakshipuram
- Annamalai Road (S.G. Pudur)
- Pollachi Junction
Image gallery
Muthalamada
A village on Pollachi line
At a level crossing
Pudunagaram
Pollachi junction
References
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