MEMU trains in Thiruvananthapuram Division to get more coaches in the near future: DRM

Divyakant Chandrakar, who recently assumed charge as the Divisional Railway Manager of Thiruvananthapuram Division, said that the first priority was to add more coaches for MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) trains. With the completion of the extension work of the Kollam MEMU shed in December, 16-coach MEMU trains would be a reality and boost railway services in the region, he added. 

Chandrakar is a Civil Engineering graduate from NIT Raipur and part of the 1996 batch of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers. He played a pivotal role in the construction of the Kalyan and Panvel terminals and the 5th and 6th lines on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)-Parel stretch. Here are a few snippets of an interview with Chandrakar. 

Is the inadequate length of platforms in various railway stations a bottleneck in increasing the number of coaches in the division? 
Steps will be taken to find a solution. Platforms with the requisite length to host 16-coach MEMUs will be ensured in the division. Four coaches were added to the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru Vande Bharat train the other day. If the nod is given to increase the number of coaches in Vande Bharat to 24, it will definitely be considered. 

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for the inordinate delay in wrapping up the Nemom terminal project? Will it be completed in March 2026 as announced earlier? 
The Nemom project and track doubling work will be put under the lens. The construction department had cleared the dues of the Nemom contractor. Once the Nagercoil Yard remodelling is completed, which will be done in the immediate future, the railways will consider starting new services from there. The focus is to complete the Nagercoil and Nemom projects with great urgency. 

Though a green signal has been given to the last phase of the Kochuveli master plan, tenders were not invited for laying the pit line? 
The construction department has to take the requisite steps. Will look into it. 

Any new trains on the Bengaluru and Chennai routes? 
It has been found that many private AC buses are running services on these routes by charging exorbitant fares. The Bengaluru and Chennai routes are ideal to run AC train services, especially AC sleeper train services, and this need will be brought to the notice of the zone. 

People travelling via Kottayam have lost a daily train service to Mumbai with the Jayanti Janata Express, which used to run till Mumbai from Kanyakumari, has been short-terminated to Pune. Will there be an action to address the travel woes to Mumbai? 
The Jayanti Janata Express was short-terminated at Pune due to issues relating to the railway platforms at CSMT. Now the platform works have been completed, and, moreover, the Panvel terminal is also coming up. The Central Railway should take a call on whether the Jayanti Janta Express could be extended to Mumbai. 

Will the division implement the Ernakulam marshalling yard terminal project? 
The projects relating to modernising various railway stations are progressing. The marshalling yard project will also be considered. 

Kerala lost two coach washing plant projects, which were allotted to the state, due to glaring lapses on the part of the mechanical department. Will there be any action against it? 
The matter will be scrutinised. 

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The long-standing demand of the railway passengers under the Thiruvananthapuram division
1) Though five platforms had been put in place at Kottayam railway station, new train services have not been flagged off.
2) Trains ending service at Ernakulam have not been extended to Kottayam.
3) No action was initiated to end the travel woes on the Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore-Ernakulam routes.
4) New daily train service to Hyderabad and Mumbai.
5) A new train to Howrah to mitigate the travel hardships of migrant labourers.

6) More train services on Palakkad, Pollachi and Kollam-Shenkotai routes.
7) More trains through Alappuzha. 
8) Introduction of Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru Vande Bharat sleeper and Ernakulam-Bengaluru chair car trains. 9) There is no train from Guruvayur to the Malabar region and the Palakkad-Pollachi route. Though Central Minister Suresh Gopi approached the railways with a demand for a Vande Metro train from  Guruvayur to Madurai via Palakkad and Pollachi, nothing has materialised yet.

10) The recommendation of the railway board to extend the Thiruvananthapuram-Madurai Amrita Express to Rameshwaram is still in cold storage.
11) The demand to start a train service from Thiruvananthapuram to Ajmer is yet to be met.
12) Start a Thiruvananthapuram-Thirunelveli-Kollam MEMU service.