Fresh illustration on Kollengode – Thirssur railway which was not implemented for reasons unknown and pending for around five decades!
Can Railway
Budget-2014 resolve the impediment in consenting for a branch railway line
within Kerala that paves the way for a shortest rail-link between Central Kerala
and central Tamil Nadu?
I have been advocating for the KOLLENGODE - THRISSUR RLY for
many years to facilitate POLLACHI – THRISSUR chord line, a fresh Green Corridor between Kerala and TN.
( Madan Menon
Thottasseri, Chennai)
In
the last year,
three Lok Sabha MPs - A Raja (Nilgiris, TN), M.I. Shanavas (Wayanad, Kerala)
and R. Dhruva Narayana (Chamraj Nagar, Karnataka) had jointly written a letter
to Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge to immediately order for a fresh
engineering survey for laying a new railway line between Nilambur in Kerala’s
Malappuram district and Karnataka’s Nanjagud in Mysore district via The
Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. The said line, once implemented will reduce
the rail travel distance between Kanyakumari and New Delhi, say by 450 km and
between Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore by around 250 km. This line will
become ideally alternative to the Palakkad – Salem – Hosur – Bangalore
– Mysore railway section, which is
round about. Construction of a viaduct at the
Bandipur reserve-forest, on the lines of the Hassan – Mangalore line will be a
challenging task. It is to be noted that in the Hassan – Mangalore line, the ghat section between
Sakleshpur and Subramanya Road (36 Miles) under the tropical forests of
Sahyadri Hills pass through a series of short tunnels, bridges and viaducts.
The Nilambur – Sultan Batteri – Nanjangud line too will be mesmerizing
travelers while trains jostle through the picturesque valleys having paddy
fields, areca nut – coconut palm gardens, running
streams and snooty hills.
I have read an article
in a vernacular daily’s on-line edition on Saturday, 29th June 2014, which had
indicated the probable incorporation of the Nilambur – Nanjangud railway line
in the Railway Budget that will be presented in the Parliament on 8th July,
2014 by the Railway Minister-Sadananda Gowda. Though I am happy on knowing that the said proposed
line is likely to become a reality, I am sad while I did see no sign of a
similar green signal for the long pending Kollengode – Thrissur railway.
There is a
long pending proposal for a new line between Kollengode, the erstwhile tiny
realm and Thrissur, the city of pooram festivals, which is actually very much
significant for the B.G conversion project in the Palakkad- Pollachi- Dindigul
route aimed to facilitate shortest route to temple towns of south Tamil Nadu
from Malabar and Cochin regions of Kerala. A traffic survey for connecting
Kollengode and Thrissur (B.G) was done during 1964-65 by the distinguished
Padmashree P.N.Baskaran Nair (late) who simultaneously surveyed the Salem-
Bangalore and Hassan – Mangalore lines. In fact this was the second survey, as
the initial survey conducted during the pre-independence period in mid forties
already went unnoticed. The line was resurveyed in the year 2007.
It is very
significant that the proposed Kollengode – Thrissur line passes through
Nenmara, the gate-way of Nelliyampathy Hill- Station. Nelliyampathy is an
upcoming tourist destination and also an ideal out-door shooting location for
movie makers in Southern India.
The present
Nenmara town is constituted by the erstwhile twin villages, Nenmara and
Vallanghy. The small town is better known for spectacular show of elephants’
parade and fireworks displayed at the Nenmara- Vallenghy Vela Festival, held in
the first week of April every year. This festival attracts not only people of
people of Cochin- Malabar regions or Coimbatore- Pollachi- Tiruppur regions of
neighboring Tamil Nadu, but also tourists from bigger cities like Chennai and
Bangalore. Of late, foreign tourists visiting Kerala during the month of April
are wooed by Tourist Operators to see the spectacular festival.The said rail
link between Kollengode and Thrissur will give a face-lift to the
paddy-cultivation and trading centers covered under Chulliyar, Pothundy,
Mangalam and Peechi irrigation projects. Boat rides in Peechi, close to
Thrissur and Pothundy reservoirs are popular. The other two reservoirs are
close to Kollengode. It will be an enchanting journey by a train that chugs
through the beautiful countryside surrounded by thick lush of paddy fields,
Coconut and areca-nut farms, rubber plantations and picturesque hills!
A direct rail corridor
from Pollachi to Thrissur by-passing the busy Palakkad will be availed if the
pending Kollengode - Thrissur railway line becomes a reality which will be
useful for the faster movement of Containers between Tuticorin and Cochin
Ports. Kollengode - Thrissur railway, the long pending line connects Kollengode
(lying in the Pollachi - Palakkad M.G section under gauge
conversion) with Thrissur, lying in the Chennai – Palakkad/ - Ernakulam and Palakkad – Mangalore trunk route that was neglected by the railway
ministry in the past 47 years!
conversion) with Thrissur, lying in the Chennai – Palakkad/ - Ernakulam and Palakkad – Mangalore trunk route that was neglected by the railway
ministry in the past 47 years!
If the new
line between Kollengode and Thrissur is made possible, it will establish the
shortest route from Madurai/Tiruchcchi regions in Central Tamil Nadu to the
Cochin regions of Kerala state. Trains between the Madurai/Tiruchchi and
Thrissur, Guruvayur, Ernakulam, Alleppy etc. can be operated through Pollachi –
Kollengode – Thrissur route, by-passing the traffic saturated Palakkad –
Ottappalam – Shoranur/ Thrissur sections. Trains towards Malabar region,
Mangalore and beyond through Konakan railways to Uduppi, Goa, Mumbai etc. can
move through Pollachi- Kollengode- Thrissur- Shoranur Jn. as well as through
Pollachi-Kolengode – Palakkad - Shoranur. In reality the gauge conversion in
the Dindigul – Palakkad sector and also the new line between Kollengode and
Thrissur will facilitate Tamil Nadu to become one of the major beneficiary
states of the Konkan Railways.
After the B.G conversion
in Palakkad- Pollachi- Palani - Dindigul sections while Southern Railways can
make it feasible to operate express trains between Alappuza
(Alleppy)/Ernakulam/Guruvayur/Mangalore/Kozikkode(Calicut)/Palakkad and temple
towns like Palani,Madurai,Rameswaram, Thiruchchi, Nagore, and Velankkanni in
Tamil Nadu, it should simultaneously operate Passenger Trains as well.
The distance
from Tiruchchi (Trichy) to Thrissur, Guruvayur or Ernakulam/Cochin ( via.
Manappara- Dindigul – Palani – Udumalaipettai- Pollachi – Kollengode -
Nenmara-Vadakkumcherry- Kuthiran-Pattikkad-Mannuthy-Thrissur) will be less by
69 k.m when compared with the present round-about Tiruchchi- Karur -Erode –
Podanur- Palakkad – Ottapalam – Wadakkancherry – Thrissur route.
Further in
future, the Thrissur- Nenmara – Kollengode - Pollachi- Podanur B.G.sections
(129 k.m) will serve as an alternative route to the busy Thrissur- Palakkad Jn.
– Podanur
Jn. (125 k.m),
a double-lined trunk section. Despite lengthier by 4 k.m, Southern Railways
will find this route through the valley of Nelliyampathy hills as a ‘third
line’ between Podanur and Thrissur, as it by-passes the busy Palakkad Jn.!
Kerala had not sought
the support of Tamil Nadu and put forth its demand for the Kollengode- Thrissur
railway line despite Kollengode – Thrissur line facilitates a chord line from
Pollachi, the industrial town in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu well-known
for the biggest market for vegetables, agro products, hill produce etc., to
Thrissur the city in central Kerala, known for the Pooram festival. Tamil Nadu
cannot ignore the importance of this line as an unimportant branch-line within
the boundary of Kerala State. This railway line will be equally pertinent for
the trade, commerce and tourism in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
It is desirable that
M.Ps and Central Ministers from Kerala demand for the Kollengode - Thrissur
railway line with support from counter parts of Tamil Nadu representing Madurai, Trichy, Dindigul, Palani, Pollachi
regions as people of these regions will also be beneficiaries of the proposed
railway line. Up on consolidating strength with proper support from the
respective regions of both States, they can jointly prevail on the Railway
Ministry to sanction the railway line. It will be better if people of a
particular region in Kerala do not agitate in isolation within Kerala. Instead
they may tie up support from the people’s forums of neighboring Tamil Nadu. Action
Councils based at Nenmara, and Kollengode etc. must form a consortium to
jointly formulate agitations. The consortium can open affiliates/sub-councils
at places like Pollachi, Udumalaipet, Palani, Oddanchatram and Dindigul with
the help of business communities who are engaged in inter-state trade and
commerce. They can also involve the Palani Dhadayudhapani Dewasthanam, which
control and manage the famous Hill Temple that attracts pilgrims from other
states, mainly from Kerala. Guruvayur Dewasam Board can also take an initiative
for Kollengode – Thrissur railway line for the cause of pilgrims’ travel. The
Railway Ministry will have no option than to heed to the common demand that
gets consolidated from different quarters.
No barriers of
state should affect the railway line that offers adequate scope to operating
round the clock pilgrim shuttle services between Palani and Guruvayur to cover
a distance of 176 K.m within four and half hours. Further by operating both
Express and Fast Passenger trains through
Dindigul- Palani –Pollachi –Kollengode-Nenmara- Thrissur line connecting
trunk-route railheads of Tamil Nadu and Kerala ( Maduarai/Tiruchchi/Dindigul
and Thrissur/Ernakulam) will enhance the
potential for traffic earnings and optimum utilisation of rolling stocks.
I think that there no
much of enthusiastic demand for this railway line from the Thrissur region.
This line will entail Thrissur to become a busy railway junction and thus
people’s forums and trade associations in Thrissur may have to intensify their
demand for the same.
On implementation of the
Kollengode- Thrissur railway, pilgrims and tourists will get a circular route – Palakkad – Podanur –
Pollachi – Kollengode – Nenmmara- Thrissur - Shoranur – Ottapalam - Palakkad
(255 k.m) comprising two smaller circular sections.
These circular sections
will be advantageous for the tourism development of Nelliyampathy ( Kerala) and
Valparai ( T.N) Hill stations and many water reservoirs- Pothundy, Mangalam, Peechi,Vazhani, Malampuzha,
Chulliar, Meenkara, Aliar, Sholaiyar, Kadamparai, Nirayar and Parambikkulam. Ultimately
the Pollachi - Kollengode- Thrissur chord line will add value to the tourism
potential of these hill-stations and nearby dams with gardens, amusement parks,
boating lakes, resorts etc. that can be easily accessible by foreign tourists
landing at Kochi, Kozhikkode or Coimbatore airports.
Kollengode – Thrissur rail link should
never carry the tag of a branch-line while the rail connection establishes an
inter-state ‘chord-line’ (89 k.m) from Pollachi to Pooram City Thrissur. It
will not be extraneous if Tamil Nadu comes forward initiating for the ‘Chord
Line’ between Pollachi and Thrissur even if Kerala is not keen on advocating
for the same!
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