Prime Minister flags off Two Amrit Bharat Trains, Two Express Trains and a Passenger Train from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu

Arun Kumar Das

PODANUR (COIMBATOOR) Mar 11: In a step aimed at benefitting millions of passengers across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and Jharkhand Prime Minister Narendra Modi today flagged off two Amrit Bharat express, two Express trains and a passenger train from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu and another passenger train from Ernakulum in Kerala.

The new train services will connect South India’s industrial belt to the Eastern part of the country.

I am very excited today as I am being given responsibility to haul the 22-coach Podanur-Dhanbad Amrit Bharat Express from here, said the Loco Pilot Senni Appan after the launch of the train by the PM from Tiruchirappalli.

Launch of this Amrit Bharat Express assumes significance as the train is connecting the “Manchester of South India” to the industrial heartland of Jharkhand, this train traverses through the mineral-rich belts of Odisha.

Keeping the common man in mind the Amrit Bharat train has 13 unreserved coaches and eight Sleeper coaches.

Equipped with advanced engineering, the train has Push-Pull technology with locomotives at both ends offering superior acceleration and a jerk-free experience.

The train is designed to provide comfort and safety to passengers, said Salem Divisional Railway Manager Panna Lal.

DRM further said ” It will enhance the connectivity between Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand for students, workers, traders and common passengers. The train is equipped with CCTV cameras and modern amenities.

There was a demand for this service for long from this region which is fulfilled now, said Vignesh, a shop keeper at the Podunar station platform.

This service seems to be a boon for small-scale entrepreneurs and industrial workers moving between the textile hubs of Coimbatore and the mining sectors of the East.

It links aspiring students from eastern India to the premier engineering and management institutes located in the Western Tamil Nadu region.

It is budget-friendly with high-end amenities like bio tolets, mobile chargers, comfortable seats are being provided at non-AC fares, ensuring that premium travel experiences remain accessible to low and middle-income families.

Besides, the PM has inaugurated three redeveloped Amrit Stations in Kerala and the dedication of the Shoranur-Nilambur Railway Line electrification project to the nation.

A weekly service, it departs Podanur every Saturday morning and arrives at Dhanbad by Monday early morning, with the return service running every Monday from Dhanbad. Threading through Salem, Renigunta, Vijayawada, Jharsuguda, and Ranchi along the way, the new weekly train will touch every major node of the corridor that connects South India’s industrial spine to the east’s energy belt.

Coimbatore and Tiruppur together form Tamil Nadu’s single largest concentration of inter-state migrant labour. These are the workers who power the looms, the lathes, and the construction cranes that have made this region the manufacturing backbone of the south. Most of them come from precisely the states this train passes through. For them, the Podanur-Dhanbad Amrit Bharat Express is not a government announcement. It is a door that finally opens.

 

Nagercoil-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express: Connecting India’s Southernmost Coast to the Deccan

The Nagercoil-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express is this region’s first direct Amrit Bharat link to Telangana, threading through over twenty districts across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. It is a train that will carry students from Kanyakumari to colleges in Hyderabad, workers from the Kerala-Tamil Nadu coast to the job markets of the Deccan, and families separated by the geography of opportunity back to each other more easily than before.

The districts it serves, stretching from Kanniyakumari in the deep south to Medchal-Malkajgiri on Hyderabad’s outskirts, form a corridor that has never before been served by a single, continuous, affordable train. For a region that has long felt peripheral to railway expansion, this is not merely a new service. It is an acknowledgement.

Two Express and Two Passenger trains

The Rameswaram-Mangaluru Express and the Tirunelveli-Mangaluru Express both chart a course through the Coimbatore corridor en route to the Karnataka coast. Residents of Coimbatore district now have new, direct options westward to Mangaluru without the need to change at intermediate stations. For pilgrims travelling to Rameswaram, one of the most sacred destinations in the Hindu calendar, the new express brings the Ramanathaswamy Temple a journey closer, with the route covering Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka and serving students, traders, and working professionals across the coastal belt.

For the Cauvery Delta, the Mayiladuthurai-Thiruvarur-Karaikkudi passenger train service brings relief to an agriculturally vital and culturally rich belt, benefiting the districts of Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, and Sivaganga, each of which has waited long for its connectivity to match its importance.

And, the Palakkad-Pollachi train service may be the smallest train announced, but it carries an outsized significance for daily life. Pollachi, Coimbatore district’s agrarian heart, known for its banana and coconut trade and flourishing small industry, now has a direct electric rail connection to Palakkad across the Kerala border. For students seeking colleges in Palakkad, for patients who must reach hospitals in either city, for daily commuters and traders who have long navigated this corridor by road alone, the new service offers faster, affordable, and cleaner connectivity.

 

Modern Infrastructure Gift to Kerala

 

In Kerala, three stations are being inaugurated as Amrit Bharat Stations, Shoranur, Kuttippuram, and Changanassery, rebuilt with modern passenger amenities, upgraded platforms, lifts and escalators, free Wi-Fi, and station facades inspired by local art and culture. The three stations have been redeveloped at a combined cost of approximately ₹52 crore under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. These are not merely renovated buildings. They are a statement that every Indian, regardless of which city they call home, deserves a station that reflects the country’s ambitions.

Alongside these inaugurations, the electrification of the Shoranur-Nilambur Railway Line, spanning 65 kilometres through Malappuram district at a project cost of Rs. 90 crore, is being dedicated to the nation. The electrified corridor eliminates diesel traction, cuts travel time, reduces emissions, and enables the seamless introduction of more passenger and freight services across one of Kerala’s most densely populated districts.