With a view to exploring the tourism potential, the divisional railway is planning to extend the “soon-to-be launched” Kollam-Nagercoil MEMU train service to Kanyakumari.
“Currently a lot of tourists visit the Varkala, Kovalam and Kanyakumari beaches on their descent to the south. We are running only two trains, the Jayanti Janata and the Island Express, to the southern tip on a daily basis.
The MEMU service announced in the budget was to be up to Nagercoil. But, it can run an additional 20-odd km,” a top railway official said.
The Trivandrum division has forwarded the proposal for consideration of the Railway Board. The board is meeting this week and this proposal is likely to get the approval. “The electrification of the entire stretch up to Kanyakumari is complete,” the official said.
Originally, the date fixed for the MEMU launch was August three, but as the commissioning of the MEMU shed in Kollam got delayed, the service between the Kollam-Nagercoil section was yet to be started, he said.
“The next MEMU service to be started will be the Ernakulam-Thrissur, and a MEMU rake is ready with the Chennai headquarters. We hope to get the services operated in all the three sections before December 31,” the official said.