Office-goers, students, traders and common public in Pollachi spend 75 minutes from the time of start at 7.25 a.m. to reach Coimbatore, to cover a distance of 46 km, as the average speed of 36.8 kmph is maintained. In the return direction, the train departing from Coimbatore at 6.15 p.m. reaches Pollachi after 90 minutes, with an average speed of 30.67 kmph. Increasing the MPS in the Pollachi- Podanur section will reduce travel time by up to 45 minutes, S. Balakrishnan, president of the association said in a letter submitted to the Divisional Railway Manager of Palakkad Division Yashpal Singh Tomar.
Also, evening train service from Pollachi to Coimbatore must be operated on Saturdays in the interests of elderly passengers, women and college students, as also for increasing revenue for the Railways, Mr. Balakrishnan said, and also emphasised that all trains operated between Pollachi and Coimbatore must be regularised.
Citing the importance of the Lord Murugan Temple in Palani for millions of pilgrims, Mr. Balakrishnan sought introduction of a daily overnight train from Pollachi/ Coimbatore/ Mettupalayam to Chennai-Egmore/ Tambaram via Palani, Dindigul and Thanjavur, to serve western and delta districts in Tamil Nadu.
Likewise, the Coimbatore-Rameswaram (two trips), Coimbatore-Tuticorin, Coimbatore-Kollam, and Coimbatore-Dindigul services in the Pollachi-Kinathukadavu-Coimbatore Section, and Palakkad-Rameswaram (two trips), Palakkad-Dindigul/Madurai, and Pollachi-Palakkad (multiple trips) that used to be operated until 2008 before Broad-Gauge conversion must be restored, since the track conversion works in the Pollachi to Podanur (Coimbatore) and Pollachi – Palakkad Town sections were completed in 2017 and 2015 respectively, the letter said.