COIMBATORE: Residents and rail users have urged Southern Railway to immediately add more coaches to the Mettupalayam–Coimbatore MEMU service, citing overcrowding of passengers on trains.Periyanaickenpalayam Train Passengers Association president M Jaikumar said the Railway Board sanctioned additional coaches for the train in February, but the Salem Railway Division was yet to implement the order. They alleged that the delay continued to affect office-goers, students and daily wage workers, especially during peak hours.Jaikumar noted that the division had been citing operational reasons despite approval being in place. He pointed out that additional coaches had recently been allotted for MEMU services in the Palakkad division and questioned why similar relief was not being provided in the Mettupalayam–Coimbatore section.On behalf of the association, he sought operation of the MEMU service with 12 coaches which current runs with eight coaches. Demanding the restoration of the Sunday 10.55am and 6.55pm services, which they said had not been operated for the past four years, he said, “People from the area had earlier used these two services to get to the city mostly for shopping purpose.”These demands were reiterated during the visit of Union minister of state L Murugan to Mettupalayam railway station for an inspection on Saturday. The rail passenger associations along with various welfare associations welcomed the minister and thanked him for helping secure around Rs 50 crore for development works at Mettupalayam and Karamadai stations.The minister inspected the three new broad gauge platforms and the one metre gauge platform for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway which are under construction at Mettupalayam station. Karamadai is also getting a new 24-coach platform.The association sought new trains from Mettupalayam to Rameswaram, Tiruchendur and Tambaram via Coimbatore and Pollachi, more frequent services to Tuticorin and Tirunelveli, extension of Coimbatore–Mangaluru trains to Mettupalayam, water bottle facilities, drinking water at Thudiyalur halt and doubling of the North Coimbatore–Mettupalayam line.
